
Within the presidential camp, the event was sold for days as “the tipping point” of the European election campaign. On Thursday, April 25, President Emmanuel Macron was back at the Sorbonne, seven years after delivering one of the founding speeches of his first term on the future of the European Union. Under the gilding of the grand amphitheater, an audience of ministers and senior members of the French ruling majority were waiting to see him rekindle the pro-European ideal and finally ignite the spark that would get this campaign off the ground. At the time, the lead candidate for Emmanuel Macron’s coalition, Valérie Hayer – appointed by default two months earlier – suffered from a cruel lack of widespread recognition. Only the French leader seemed in a position to breathe life into this European campaign.
But the French were passionate about another subject: the “simulated suicide” of The Voice winner Kendji Girac. On BFM-TV news channel, the singer’s face occupied one of the corners of the screen, while the president talked about “mortal Europe” and “green reindustrialization.” Then, on the evening news, the local prosecutor’s press conference on the circumstances of the tragedy partly overshadowed Macron’s performance.
The irruption of this news item is just one example of the “current events” that have “hampered” the European election campaign, which, according to the leaders of the presidential majority, “was never really able to get underway.” The excuse seems to be an attempt above all to hide the stumbling blocks faced by the presidential camp during the three long months of campaigning: the wear and tear on a leader in power for more than seven years, without a majority in the Assemblée Nationale and who is subjected to current events. “We are approaching these elections with a great deal of humility,” warned the Elysée back in February, as if in anticipation of a setback.
It’s quite the opposite for Jordan Bardella. Confident of his momentum, the lead candidate for the far-right Rassemblement National (RN) party even took the liberty of skipping the first debates between the candidates. Right from the start of the campaign, at the Paris Agricultural Show on February 25, he showcased his popularity with selfies and handshakes. Whereas the day before, Macron was greeted with boos, before being exfiltrated during a violent shoving match between law enforcement and Coordination Rurale trade unionists. “Bardella, the ubiquitous opponent who says nothing and is the receptacle of anger,” described the minister in charge of Europe, Jean-Noël Barrot.
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