The scandal surrounding the death of Quentin Deranque further damages the image of the far left in France. As a result, Jean-Luc Mélenchon’s party, La France Insoumise (LFI), accused of protecting the violent militia La Jeune Garde, is seen as a political force to be defeated in the upcoming municipal elections. For the first time, a Macronist minister has raised the possibility of a temporary alliance with the Rassemblement National (RN) against LFI—but not without ulterior motives.
Interviewed on the news channel BFM TV, the minister delegate for gender equality, Aurore Bergé, who has a privileged position within Emmanuel Macron’s entourage, having previously served as government spokeswoman, made a direct appeal to Jordan Bardella to consider some form of alliance for the upcoming municipal elections to be held on March 15th and 22nd.
The Socialist Party and LFI have announced their intention to form alliances on a case-by-case basis in the municipal elections, despite the opprobrium surrounding LFI, reinforced by its indirect involvement in Quentin’s murder.
Bergé took offence at the prospect of alliances between the PS and LFI, strongly attacking Jean-Luc Mélenchon for “the hatred he spreads,” “the brutalisation of debate” he encourages, and his “antisemitism.” She explained that she “hopes” that the death of Quentin Deranque “will make everyone aware of the danger that La France Insoumise represents for our country, for our cohesion, for our values, and for democracy.”
For his part, Jordan Bardella explained that he wanted to “form a cordon sanitaire to isolate La France Insoumise,” speaking at a press conference held on February 18th, which acknowledged the political consequences of the death of the young man lynched by ‘anti-fascist’ activists.
Taking him at his word, Bergé therefore recommends the withdrawal of RN candidates if LFI can win, and this “from the first round.”
“Let everyone be clear: if Mr Bardella’s enemy is LFI, then he should ensure that no candidate who could enable LFI to win the municipal elections is retained.” However, true to the acrobatic balancing act that is the hallmark of Macron’s party, Bergé assures us that her political line has not changed: “neither RN nor LFI. Never, neither one nor the other.”
Bergé’s proposal is audacious, not to say disingenuous, considering that her party formed numerous alliances with the Left and the far left during the 2024 legislative elections in order to prevent the RN from gaining a majority in the National Assembly at all costs.
Today, the centre is coming to regret this disastrous strategy, but it is too late. For example, in the town of Le Havre, where former Prime Minister Edouard Philippe is running under the colours of the presidential camp, victory is predicted for the Communist candidate running against him—even though they had formed an alliance against the RN for the legislative elections.
The Left has been quick to respond to this absurd appeal, condemning the emergence of a “macro-Le Penism,” a “mishmash” that has obviously never been viable.
The RN preferred to laugh at the minister’s reckless ideas. For Marine Le Pen, there is no question of withdrawing in favour of the Macron camp. Bergé’s move nevertheless reflects an ongoing reshaping of the political landscape that has been underway for several months, but which has tended to be confirmed and reinforced since the political assassination of Quentin Deranque: the sidelining of the famous ‘republican arc’ of the LFI party. In the solitude of the polling booth, will voters confirm this trend?
