Emmanuel Macron has given his Left-leaning prime minister a dressing down over remarks that Marine Le Pen’s hard-Right party are the “heirs” of Nazi-era collaborators.
News of the clash came amid reports Mr Macron’s relationship with Elisabeth Borne is increasingly strained and that he may fire her.
On Sunday, Ms Borne said that the National Rally (RN), formerly known as the Front National, were the “heirs of [Philippe] Pétain” who was the head of the Vichy French regime that collaborated with the Nazis in the Second World War.
But Mr Macron reportedly criticised her in a cabinet meeting, saying: “You will not be able to make millions of French people who voted for the far-Right believe that they are fascists.”
The only way to fight them was on policy rather than via “moral arguments”, he reportedly added.
The prime minister’s comments enraged the Le Pen camp, which in recent years has emerged as the main opposition to Mr Macron. Jordan Bardella demanded an official apology over words that “shocked many French”.
Ms Le Pen has lost to Mr Macron in two presidential runoffs but recent polls suggest she is now more popular than him.
She has been leading a long-term drive to “de-demonise” her party and rid it of the legacy of its former leader, her father Jean Marie Le Pen, who was convicted for racism and calling the Nazi gas chambers a “detail of history”.
The polls suggest that a record number of French now see the RN as mainstream and no longer view Ms Le Pen as a threat to the Republic.
But Ms Borne, 62, the daughter of a Holocaust survivor who later committed suicide, said in an interview with Radio J on Sunday she did not believe in the “normalisation” of the RN and that it still had a “dangerous ideology”.
Mr Macron, however, reportedly told her such comments would only play into their hands.
“The fight against the far-Right no longer revolves around moral arguments!” Mr Macron is said to have told the cabinet. He called on his forces to discredit the RN on substance and by pointing out “inconsistencies” in its policies, rather than using “words from the 90s which no longer work”.
His comments came as political tensions rose over Mr Macron’s flagship pension reform, which he forced through parliament without a vote. Some commentators have warned that the unpopular move has opened the way for Ms Le Pen to clinch the presidency in 2027. Mr Macron will not be standing in that election as he cannot serve a third consecutive term.
Priority for French president
Mr Macron has repeatedly insisted that taking on the RN must be a priority for his camp, telling allies that Ms Le Pen will win the keys to the Elysée “if we do not know how to respond to the country’s challenges and if we get into the habit of lying or denying reality”.
In recent weeks, French media has reported that Ms Borne is tired of Mr Macron sidelining her by announcing policy initiatives himself. Some say he is considering replacing her in a reshuffle.
On Wednesday, the French president sought to play down any splits, saying she had “my full confidence”.
“When I have had things to say to the prime minister over the past six years, I have done so one to one,” he insisted.
But he reiterated his reported comments that it was no longer possible to beat the RN on moral grounds. These were insufficient “because the far-Right has transformed itself” and many voters back it “not because of its history but because they say, at root, ‘we haven’t tried that yet’.”
His comments were criticised by the mainstream Right Republicans party, whose parliamentary leader Olivier Marleix said Mr Macron had exploited the “demonisation” of Ms Le Pen to win two elections. “Now that he is no longer eligible for re-election, I find it extremely unsavoury to come and say ‘après moi le déluge’ [after me, the flood].”
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