Members of the conservative Les Republicans (LR) political committee unanimously voted out the party chairman, Eric Ciotti, ahead of the , party official Annie Genevard said on Wednesday.
Ciotti astounded political observers by suggesting that it was time to drop the long-standing taboo against forming an alliance with .
“The Republicans will present candidates to the French public with clarity and independence” for the snap vote on June 30 and July 7, Genevard said.
Ciotti called the committee’s decision “a flagrant violation of our statutes” that was illegal and void. “I am and remain the president” of the party, he wrote in a post on X, formerly Twitter.
Why was Eric Ciotti ousted?
had called a snap election after the defeat of liberal groups and the strong showing of right-wing nationalists in .
Politicians on the left of French politics, including communists, greens and socialists responded by saying they would join forces. Meanwhile, Ciotti declared on television that he would seek cooperation with Le Pen’s right-wing nationalists.
The LR was a stronger party in the past, bringing presidents like Nicolas Sarkozy and Jacques Chirac to power. But it has been overshadowed by Macron’s centrists and the far right since 2017.
More to follow…
fb, rc/wmr (Reuters, AFP)
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