French right in uproar over leader Ciotti’s call for far-right alliance

The leader of France’s right-wing Republicans party, Eric Ciotti, has sparked an outcry after he backed an alliance with the far-right National Rally in snap elections announced by President Emmanuel Macron.

The anti-immigration party of Marine Le Pen and Jordan Bardella scored a dramatic victory in European elections on Sunday, prompting Mr Macron to dissolve parliament and call a first round of elections in 19 days’ time.

The decision has sent shockwaves through French politics, not least among the Republicans party, which won only 7.25% of the vote and has seen many of its voters move to National Rally (RN).

For Republicans leader Eric Ciotti the solution was clear: “We need to have an alliance while remaining ourselves… an alliance with the National Rally and its candidates.”

The snap election has prompted parties on both left and right to consider forming alliances to stand a greater chance of winning more seats. Left-wing parties have already agreed to abandon their differences to form a “popular front”.

But never before has the traditional right in French politics made any sort of political accord with the far right and Mr Ciotti’s remarks set a party that was already struggling to find a voice “on the verge of implosion”, as Le Monde put it.

Mr Ciotti, who is on the right wing of his party, revealed he had already spoken to Marine Le Pen and Jordan Bardella. Ms Le Pen immediately praised his “courageous choice and sense of responsibility” and looked forward to an end to “40 years of a pseudo-cordon sanitaire” disappearing.

But his suggestion was immediately greeted with a chorus of derision. Outside party headquarters in Paris, supporters spoke of an act of treachery for a party whose origins lie with the first president of France’s current Fifth Republic, Charles de Gaulle.

A clearly furious Republicans vice-president Florence Portelli said the party would fire Mr Ciotti for suggesting an accord with the far right. “I think there’s a chance he can be made to leave, if he doesn’t go by himself, and I have no doubt it’ll happen,” she told France Info TV.