Emmanuel Macron at the Saint-Lô National Stud, June 5, 2024.

The French president is surging through the media like a tidal wave. With his coalition lagging well behind the far-right Rassemblement National (RN) party in the polls, and with the Socialist dangerously nipping at its heels, Emmanuel Macron has been omnipresent during the final week of the campaign before the June 9 European elections, flooding the media with his words and his image.

On June 6, the 80th anniversary of the D-Day landings in Normandy, France’s president was attending ceremony after ceremony, each time warning against the risk of war returning to Europe, against the backdrop of a growing far right. Indeed, no fewer than eight events were scheduled over three days, each with speeches that would be widely broadcast on television.

In line with his strategy, which over the past few weeks has consisted of making the conflict in Ukraine out to be the key issue of the European election campaign, something which, in theory, galvanizes his electorate, Macron has invited the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelensky, to the international ceremony taking place on Thursday, June 6, at Omaha Beach on the coast of Normandy – a strong symbol, as Russia has not been invited.

At the ceremony, the Ukrainian leader will rub shoulders with US President Joe Biden and his wife Jill Biden, as well as King Charles III of England, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Italian President Sergio Mattarella and some 15 other national leaders. Following that, Zelensky and Macron are due to sign two agreements representing €650 million in loans and grants for Kyiv, late on Friday afternoon at the Elysée Palace.

Pulling out all the stops, the French president has also seized on the opportunity of meeting with Biden, who is also on the campaign trail, to propose that he extend his stay in France with a state visit on Saturday, culminating in a prestigious banquet at the Elysée that evening.

‘Political polemics’

However, by planning to make announcements during an interview on the 8 pm news programs on Thursday evening – just three days before the EU election – the president went too far, the opposition parties charged. According to the Elysée Palace, Macron will talk a lot about international politics, but also “a little” about the European elections.

“If he were simply talking about the commemorations of the D-Day landings, and the 80th anniversary, and the importance it has in our history, I don’t see any problem with that, obviously,” said Raphaël Glucksmann, the lead candidate for the Socialist-backed list. “But they’re already announcing that he’s going to mention the international situation and that he’s going to talk about the European elections!”

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