“Search for compromise”, “no carte blanche”… The National Rally blows hot and cold on the Barnier government

Marine Le Pen a effectué sa rentrée médiatique ce dimanche dans son fief d'Hénin-Beaumont. MAXPPP – COURBE

Entre promesses de ne pas participer "au désordre"and threats of censorship, RN executives have sent out a series of messages to the new Prime Minister.

Marine Le Pen's National Rally, which prides itself on its role as arbiter, blew hot and cold this weekend on the government of the new Prime Minister Michel Barnier, between promises not to participate in “the disorder” and threats of censorship.

Is this a way of revisiting the game of cat and mouse? ? While Michel Barnier continued his consultations on Sunday to form his ministerial team and define his roadmap, the National Rally, whose leaders saturated the media space this weekend, made it known that it intended more than ever to place itself at the center of the game. Its armed wing: the contingent of 126 deputies in the Assembly – and even 142 with the support of Eric Ciotti's allies – who could hold in his hands the future of the future government.

“No carte blanche”

“We do not give carte blanche. If over the weeks, the French were to be forgotten or mistreated again, we would not hesitate to censure the government”,thus thundered Marine Le Pen on Sunday from her stronghold of Hénin-Beaumont, where she was making her return. In front of the press and in her speech, the leader of the RN deputies alternated between good points for Michel Barnier and warnings.

For her, there was no question of condemning him out of hand. Like the RN MP Jean-Philippe Tanguy who, after hastily describing Mr Barnier on Wednesday before his appointment as a “fossil of political life” and “one of the stupidest politicians of the Fifth Republic”, had to eat his hat on BFMTV on Sunday by admitting that he should not have “expressed himself in this way towards another man”. politics".

🗣 En déplacement à Hénin-Beaumont, Marine Le Pen se réjouit que Michel Barnier semble vouloir trouver des "compromis avec l'ensemble des forces politiques". Elle espère qu'il sera "respectueux de ce que souhaitent les 11 millions d'électeurs du Rassemblement national". pic.twitter.com/ohcz3vXQGn

— franceinfo (@franceinfo) September 8, 2024

Mme Le Pen welcomed the "compromise"undertaken by Mr Barnier, in line with what she expected of a Prime Minister “respectful of the 11 million voters of the National Rally”.

She also considered that the former European Commissioner was not “responsible for the record” of Emmanuel Macron, in particular for “the almost untenable budgetary equation” left "as a legacy". And this even if the LR right, that is to say "Mr. Barnier's political family", "has accompanied all these errors over the years without ever agreeing to censor Emmanuel Macron".

"Red lines"

While, on Saturday, the head of the RN Jordan Bardella had assured that he did not want to participate“to institutional disorder and democratic chaos” by immediately overthrowing Mr. Barnier, Ms. Le Pen insisted on Sunday in judging “that it would not be very reasonable to carry out censorship after her general policy speech”. With a codicil however: that this declaration, announced by Mr. Barnier for “early October”, corresponds “on a significant number of subjects to the hopes that we have“.

Because for the RN, Mr. Barnier is “under surveillance”, as Jordan Bardella formulated on Saturday morning. “It's not a threat, it's an arithmetic fact”, Ms Le Pen defended on Sunday. “This is not a government under surveillance, it is a government under the benevolence of the extreme right”, ex-Insoumis MP Alexis Corbière grumbled on LCI.

The call for referendums

Eager to weigh in, Ms Le Pen intends, “in the coming weeks, to indicate to the Prime Minister the red lines and the measures […] that must be taken into account”. By calling on Emmanuel Macron to use referendums, particularly on "purchasing power, immigration, security, health". The RN's parliamentary session, from Thursday to Sunday in Paris, should allow the party to clarify its expectations.

The government casting will be scrutinized because “It would not make sense for Mr Barnier […] to appoint a minister who insulted us”, argued Mr Tanguy, citing the case of Minister of Justice Eric Dupond-Moretti. The MP did, however, mention “competent people on the left”, such as the former Minister of the Economy Arnaud Montebourg.

Michel Barnier and “convergences”

A few hours before the closing ceremony of the Paralympic Games, Michel Barnier went to the outskirts of the Stade de France to greet the security forces and volunteers mobilized. “I don't think I'm here by default”, Mr Barnier replied on the sidelines of this visit, expressing his "determination" and a "duty of humility".

Earlier in the day, he had continued his round table discussions to form a government by receiving the leaders of Horizons, including his predecessor at Matignon Edouard Philippe, then the head of the MoDem François Bayrou. The leader of the Horizons deputies Laurent Marcangeli highlighted, at the end of the meeting, "convergences" with the new tenant of Matignon, not excluding the participation of his party in the government. From Monday, Michel Barnier will continue his consultations with the reception of representatives of the Liot group at 3 p.m.