French President Emmanuel Macron was sharply criticised on Tuesday for warning that a victory by the far-right or left in snap elections could lead to a “civil war”, while his opponents urged him not to scare the public, French media reported.
France is preparing for Sunday’s vote, which will be the most polarised in decades. Macron called the parliamentary elections after the right National Rally won a landslide victory in European Parliament elections earlier this month.
The election is turning into a confrontation between the far-right RN party and the left-wing New Popular Front, with France Unbowed, a left-wing party dominating.
Macron warned on Monday that the programmes of the two “extremes” could lead to a “civil war”, accusing the RN and France Unbowed of sowing tensions and dividing people. Leaders of both the left and right condemned his remarks.
Eric Ciotti, leader of the conservative Republicans (LR), who had angered allies by personally negotiating an electoral pact with the RN, accused the French president of irresponsibility. He said, speaking on BFMTV-RMC television:
“This is a strategy of fear.”
Marine Le Pen said Macron’s arguments were “weak” and showed that “he believes he has lost this election”.
Fight for survival
Patrick Kanner, head of the Socialists in the Senate, said Macron’s remarks showed he was fighting for his political survival. He said:
“We are dealing with a man who no longer controls anything.”
Jean-Luc Melenchon, the head of France Unbowed, also criticised Macron, saying on Monday night:
“He is always ready to set fire to everything around him.”
The three main camps – left, far-right and centrists – are set to hold key televised debates on Tuesday night.
The debate will pit Prime Minister Gabriel Attal of Macron’s centrist Renaissance party against far-right party leader RN Bardella and Manuel Bompard of the leftist New Popular Front.
According to some polls, the RN could win 35-36 per cent in the first round of voting on Sunday, ahead of the left-wing Alliance on 27-29.5 per cent and Macron’s centrists in third place with 19.5-22 per cent.
A second round of voting will take place on July 7 in districts where no candidate won more than 50 per cent in the first round.
