Foreign
A split by left-leaning dissidents on Tuesday looked set to narrowly rob French President Emmanuel Macron’s centrist party of its majority in the National Assembly, though allies will keep his government safe.
A group of 16 current and former members of Macron’s parliamentary group, along with one Green, said they were forming a new bloc with a greater focus on social and environmental issues.
The move would take Macron’s La Republique en Marche (LREM, the Republic on the Move,) down from 295 to 288 seats in the 577-member assembly, leaving the party one seat short of commanding a majority on its own.
However, the centrist Democratic Movement (MoDem) party, which is in coalition with Macron’s LREM, lends the government a further 46 seats, ensuring its overall majority is not at risk.
Macron won the 2017 presidential election arguing that the left-right divide was outdated, and promising to combine job creation and support for business with social and environmental protection.
However, some left-leaning supporters had since been disappointed with what they said was an excessively pro-business approach.
Meanwhile, environmental policy, tougher migrant detention rules, and arms sales to Saudi Arabia had also caused unease for dissidents.
According to the founding member Aurelien Tache, the new group, baptized Ecology Solidarity Democracy, was seeking priority for social, ecological and democratic questions.
However, one of the fellow dissidents, Hubert Julien-Laferriere, insisted that nobody was interested in betraying their commitments of 2017, rather, the majority had left them behind.
According to Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le-Drian, the split was a pity and assured of Emmanuel Macron’s majority.
NAN
– May 19, 2020 @ 17:20 GMT /
Tags: Macron’s centrist party sees majority at risk as dissidents leaves
