French minister Retailleau breaks with Macron as 2027 succession race heats up
PARIS - French Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau delivered a stern rebuke of President Emmanuel Macron's political legacy in an interview published on Wednesday, breaking with his boss to stake his claim as his potential successor in the 2027 election.
Less than two years before the end of Macron's second term, after which he can't immediately seek reelection, an increasingly crowded group of potential candidates to succeed the French leader is starting to emerge.
Retailleau, a veteran conservative, has yet to declare his candidacy for 2027 but his comments to the right-wing Valeurs Actuelles magazine underline how likely presidential contenders are now trying to distance themselves from Macron's bruised political brand and carve out their own electoral niche.
They also point to the fissures in France's weak minority government, a coalition of centrists and conservatives, that will likely widen as the presidential succession heats up.
"Macronism will end with Emmanuel Macron, quite simply because it's neither a political movement nor an ideology: it essentially relies on one man," he was quoted as saying.
A spokesperson for Macron declined to comment.
Retailleau beat rivals in a leadership contest for the right-wing Republicans party in May, teeing him up for a potential presidential run. As the face of the government's push on rising drug crime and immigration, he has become one of France's most popular politicians.
Top stories
Swipe. Select. Stay informed.
Singapore Judge asks prosecution for more information on Kpods in first case involving etomidate-laced vapes
Singapore Male victim of fatal Toa Payoh fire was known to keep many things, say residents
Singapore HDB launches 10,209 BTO and balance flats, as priority scheme for singles kicks in
Singapore 5 teens arrested for threatening boy with knife, 2 charged with causing hurt
Singapore Singapore's domestic recycling rate drops to all-time low of 11%
Singapore Cyclist charged after allegedly hitting elderly pedestrian, killing him
Singapore Money, housing and isolation the biggest struggles for youth leaving children's homes: Study
Singapore Sota's parents portal taken down for urgent patching following global cyberattack alerts
Retailleau has a 36% approval rating, according to a July Ipsos poll, compared with 24% for Macron.
Retailleau's comments sparked a barrage of criticism from lawmakers in Macron's party.
"Macronism is an ideology and a political party," Macron's former prime minister Elisabeth Borne, who hails from the left and is now education minister, posted on X. "Acting together requires mutual respect."
Macron swept to power in 2017 at the head of his own movement which he said was "neither to the left nor the right". He implemented pro-European, pro-business policies once in power, but was seen as too pro-wealth for the left and not tough enough on crime and immigration for the right.
As his popularity has fallen, his domination of the centre has pushed more French people to the political fringes. Marine Le Pen's far-right National Rally (RN) party is now the largest single parliamentary party, and she and her right-hand man Jordan Bardella lead many polls for the 2027 election.
Retailleau said there would be a return to a clear left-right divide once Macron's term ends.
A source close to Retailleau, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the minister's comments were to be expected in a coalition government and that he had no plans to resign. He was set to meet Macron on Thursday for a previously scheduled chat. REUTERS
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Straits Times
an hour ago
- Straits Times
Peru's Boluarte pardons security forces for abuses during decades-long internal conflict
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox FILE PHOTO: Peru's President Dina Boluarte speaks during a press conference with Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto (not pictured) at the Merdeka Palace in Jakarta, Indonesia, August 11, 2025. REUTERS/Ajeng Dinar Ulfiana/File photo LIMA - Peru President Dina Boluarte signed a law on Wednesday pardoning military and police officers accused of human rights abuses committed from 1980 to 2000 during a bitter fight with leftist rebels. The law, approved by Congress in July, was enacted despite a request from the Inter-American Court of Human Rights, which urged Peru's government not to pass the bill to ensure "victims can get justice." It also asked courts to not enforce the law. "With the enactment of this pardon law, the Peruvian government and Congress recognize the sacrifice of members of the armed forces, the police and self-defense groups in the fight against terrorism," Boluarte said in a speech. "We're giving them back the dignity that should never have been questioned." According to the national human rights coordinator, the pardon will effectively halt or overturn more than 600 pending trials and 156 sentences against security officials for abuses committed during clashes with insurgent groups like the Shining Path. The conflict resulted in an estimated 69,000 deaths and disappearances. Top stories Swipe. Select. Stay informed. Singapore 2 dead after fire in Jalan Bukit Merah flat, about 60 evacuated Singapore TB screenings at two pre-schools after staff member diagnosed in July Singapore HSA seeks Kpod investigators to arrest abusers, conduct anti-trafficking ops Opinion The 30s are heavy: Understanding suicide among Singapore's young adults Singapore Lawyer who sent misleading letters to 22 doctors fails in bid to quash $18,000 penalty Business Haidilao to close Clarke Quay outlet on Aug 31; exit follows 3 earlier outlet closures Singapore Jail, caning for recalcitrant drug offender who assaulted 2 cops with stun device Singapore SG60: Many hands behind Singapore's success story Lawmakers from the right-wing Popular Force party, which backed the measure, argued the law was necessary to end hundreds of trials that have stalled for over two decades without a verdict. The party was founded by the late former president Alberto Fujimori, who died in September. Fujimori had been sentenced to 25 years in prison for human rights abuses committed during his presidency before receiving a pardon in 2023. The law comes as Boluarte faces an investigation for the deaths of protesters after she took office in late 2022. Her public approval rating has fallen to historic lows. REUTERS
Straits Times
2 hours ago
- Straits Times
Turned back from Gaza, aid shipments languish in warehouses, on roadsides
Humanitarian aid waits to be delivered to Gaza, at a logistics site run by the Egyptian Red Crescent outside Arish, Egypt, August 11, 2025. REUTERS/Alexander Dziadosz/File Photo RAFAH, Egypt - -Boxes of Gaza-bound aid turned back by Israel on Sunday languished atop a truck and flatbed trailer parked metres from its border with Egypt, as exasperated drivers and U.N. officials criticised delays in sending food and medicine to the enclave. Seven aid officials and three truckers interviewed by Reuters listed a host of obstacles, ranging from rejections of shipments for minor packing and paperwork issues to heavy scrutiny over possible dual military use for a range of goods, as well as short working hours at the Israeli border crossing. The supplies seen by Reuters on Monday on the stalled truck and trailer outside Egypt's Rafah border crossing carried blue logos of the World Health Organisation and labels describing contents like topical medications and suction devices to clean wounds. A WHO employee working at the border said the cargo was blocked for carrying "illegal medicines". Reuters could not independently verify why the trucks were not allowed to enter Gaza and the Israeli military authority in charge of coordinating aid did not respond to a question about why they were not let into the enclave. Reuters visited Egypt's border with Gaza on Monday on a trip organised by the Elders, a group of former world leaders set up by late South African President Nelson Mandela that backs a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Some Elders members have been highly critical of Israel's conduct in Gaza, including former Irish President Mary Robinson and former New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark, who joined the border trip. Responding to international outrage sparked by images of starving Gazans, Israel on July 27 announced measures to let more aid into Gaza. But aid agencies say only a fraction of what they send is getting in. Israel strongly denies limiting aid supplies. Top stories Swipe. Select. Stay informed. Singapore 2 dead after fire in Jalan Bukit Merah flat, about 60 evacuated Singapore TB screenings at two pre-schools after staff member diagnosed in July Singapore HSA seeks Kpod investigators to arrest abusers, conduct anti-trafficking ops Opinion The 30s are heavy: Understanding suicide among Singapore's young adults Singapore Lawyer who sent misleading letters to 22 doctors fails in bid to quash $18,000 penalty Business Haidilao to close Clarke Quay outlet on Aug 31; exit follows 3 earlier outlet closures Singapore Jail, caning for recalcitrant drug offender who assaulted 2 cops with stun device Singapore SG60: Many hands behind Singapore's success story Speaking to reporters at the Rafah crossing, Clark expressed shock at the amount of aid turned back at the border. 'To see this crossing, which should be a place where people interact with each other, where people can come and go, where people aren't under blockade, where people who are ill can leave to come out – to see it just silent for the people, it's absolutely shocking for us,' Clark said. 'BUREAUCRATIC HURDLES, DELAYS' Approvals and clearance procedures that got a shipment through the Rafah border crossing "within a few days" of arrival in Egypt during a ceasefire earlier in the war now took "minimum one month,' according to the WHO employee at the border. On Monday, the Hamas-run Gaza government media office said at least 1,334 trucks had entered Gaza through all land crossings, including from Egypt, since the Israeli measures announced on July 27, but this was far short of the 9,000 that would have gone in if 600 trucks had entered per day. The United States has said a minimum of 600 trucks per day are needed to feed Gaza's population. Reuters could not independently confirm the reasons for the delays described in this article or the specific figures supplied by those interviewed. Asked for its response to allegations of curbs on aid flows, the Israeli military agency that coordinates aid, COGAT, said Israel invests 'considerable efforts' in aid distribution. It said about 300 trucks had been transferred daily in "recent weeks," mostly carrying food, via all land crossings. "Despite the claims made, the State of Israel allows and facilitates the provision of humanitarian assistance to the Gaza Strip without any quantitative limit on the number of aid trucks entering the Gaza Strip,' COGAT said. The agency did not address specific questions about aid shipment volumes. In mid-July, Israel introduced a requirement that shipments of humanitarian aid arriving from Egypt undergo customs clearance. According to the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, Israel's move led to "additional bureaucratic hurdles, delays, and costs for humanitarian organisations." U.N. agencies were exempted from customs clearance from Egypt from July 27 to Aug. 3, OCHA said in a report on August 6. While not officially extended, the exemption still appeared to be in place, it said. Other international NGOs could be exempted only on a case-by-case basis and only for health items. More than 200 Gazans have died of malnutrition or starvation in the war, according to Palestinian health authorities, adding to the over 61,000 dead they say have been killed by military action. The U.N. human rights office and several expert studies have said the number is probably an undercount. Israel has disputed the Gaza health ministry figures, which do not distinguish between fighters and civilians, and says at least a third of the fatalities are militants. On Monday, COGAT said a review by its medical experts found the number of deaths reported by the Gaza health ministry due to malnutrition was inflated and most of those "allegedly dying from malnutrition" had pre-existing conditions. A WAREHOUSE OF REJECTED GOODS Drivers coming from Egypt cannot go directly to the Gaza side of the Rafah crossing, which had been operated by the Hamas-run border authority but is now closed. Instead, they route to the Israeli crossing of Kerem Shalom, about three km (two miles) to the south, where shipments undergo checks. Kamel Atteiya Mohamed, an Egyptian truck driver, estimated that of the 200 or 300 trucks trying to get through this route every day, only 30 to 50 make it. "They tell you, for example, that the pallet doesn't have a sticker, the pallet is tilted, or the pallet is open from the top. This is no reason for us to return it,' he told Reuters. He said that while the Egyptian crossing was open day and night, drivers often arrived at Kerem Shalom only to find it closed, as it does not normally operate beyond weekday business hours. 'Every day it's like this,' he said. 'Honestly, we're fed up.' While COGAT did not address specific questions about the driver's remarks and allegations of inflexible working hours, it said that "hundreds of truckloads of aid still await collection by the UN and international organizations" on the Palestinian side of the border crossings. A logistics site set up by the Egyptian Red Crescent near El Arish town, 40 km (25 miles) from the border, where shipments coming from Egypt to Gaza are loaded, has a tarp tent warehouse devoted to goods turned back from the border. A Reuters reporter saw rows of white oxygen tanks, as well as wheelchairs, car tires and cartons labelled as containing generators and first-aid kits and with logos of aid groups from countries such as Luxembourg and Kuwait, among others. Reuters was not able to verify when the items at the Red Crescent site were turned back or on what grounds. Aid workers describe such rejections as routine. Speaking at the meeting with the Elders that Reuters attended, one World Food Programme worker said that only 73 of the 400 trucks the agency had sent since July 27 had made it in. U.N. Palestinian refugee agency UNRWA has not been allowed to send aid into Gaza since March. The OCHA August 6 report said no shelter materials had been allowed to enter Gaza since March 2 and those available on the local market were "prohibitively expensive and limited in quantity." The WHO employee who works on the border said the truck and trailer seen by Reuters were among three trucks that had been turned back on Sunday. A manifest given for their cargo, seen by Reuters, included urine drainage bags, iodine, plasters and sutures. REUTERS
CNA
2 hours ago
- CNA
Trump says he will seek extension of federal takeover of DC police
WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump on Wednesday (Aug 13) called on his fellow Republicans in Congress to pass a crime bill extending the 30-day limit on federal police control in Washington, adding that he could declare a national emergency if lawmakers don't act. The crime-related legislation would initially pertain to the nation's capital, but could be used as a model for other US cities, he added. "We're going to be asking for extensions on that, long-term extensions, because you can't have 30 days," Trump said at the Kennedy Center after he announced the 2025 honorees. If Congress does not pass an extension, he can declare a national emergency in order to extend the 30-day limit, he said. "I don't want to call national emergency. If I have to, I will, but I think the Republicans in Congress will approve this pretty much unanimously," Trump said.
