Latest news with #Wauquiez
LeMonde
19-05-2025
- Politics
- LeMonde
French conservatives choose security
In the long road to France's 2027 presidential election, the vote held on Sunday, May 18, by the conservative Les Républicains (LR) party is merely a step. However, for one man, the result of this vote holds considerable significance. Since 2017, Laurent Wauquiez has presented himself as the savior of the right, the one who could deliver a rupture, much like former president Nicolas Sarkozy a decade earlier. He was soundly defeated by an opponent he did not see coming, receiving only 25.7% of the votes from LR members, versus 74.3% for Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau. This punishing vote diminishes the former president of the central Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region's prospects for a 2027 presidential bid. The rebuke is all the more severe given that Wauquiez, who led LR between 2017 and 2019, was supposed to be more familiar with the inner workings of his party and the expectations of its members than Retailleau, who was defeated in the same election in 2022. Wauquiez's current role as president of the LR group in the Assemblée Nationale also gave him the advantage of claiming to members that he would have the power to make or break the current government of Prime Minister François Bayrou in the coming months. Despite these assets and his repeated references to former president Jacques Chirac as a model, he was clearly rejected. The choice of security On the substance, the campaign confirmed the worrying radicalization of the French right. Targeting a common enemy – the radical-left La France Insoumise party – Wauquiez and Retailleau ran on the same themes – security, opposition to immigration, the fight against communitarianism, praise of work, fiscal austerity and the challenge to the rule of law in migration matters – to try to win over the roughly 100,000 voters increasingly sensitive to the far right. What separated the two candidates wasn't policy, but personality. At 50, Wauquiez suffers from having made many enemies within his own party without having succeeded in forging strong ties with the public. Close to Christian Democrats at the start of his political career, this highly educated individual served multiple times as a minister during Sarkozy's five-year term, gradually radicalizing his discourse to the point of becoming a champion of the union of the right with far-right pundit Éric Zemmour. Wauquiez has opposed almost everything President Emmanuel Macron has done since 2017, including the raising of the retirement age, strongly defended by the right, but unable, to this day, to propose an alternative. He remains trapped by the two adjectives many of his adversaries associate with his name: "brutal" and "insincere." At a very low point for their party, the LR members have chosen security. At 64, Retailleau, who presided over the LR group in the Sénat for 10 years, embodies an identity-driven right, yet is not averse to compromising with the center. Freshly elected head of the party, the interior minister has adopted Wauquiez's call for "rupture" while proclaiming his intention to remain in the government for the time being. A way to balance competing interests in a particularly unstable political environment. Not glorious, but effective.
Yahoo
14-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Plot to drop migrants on freezing Atlantic island at heart of battle for French Right
Until two weeks ago, a freezing, sparsely populated French territory off Canada in the north Atlantic was unknown to most people in France, let alone the rest of the world. Since then, the archipelago of Saint Pierre and Miquelon has unexpectedly been thrust into the spotlight not once, but twice. First the windswept cluster of eight islands just off Newfoundland made headlines when Donald Trump inexplicably slapped 50 per cent trade tariffs on it. And then when the president of the conservative Republicans party in the National Assembly suggested 'dangerous' foreigners should be sent there if they refused to leave the country. 'The average yearly temperature is 5C, there are 146 days of rain and snow. I think that quite rapidly, it will make everyone think,' Laurent Wauquiez told CNews. Mr Wauquiez's announcement sparked shock and anger, but in the current climate it's fitting. With the next presidential election in two years, the French Right is locked in a bitter leadership battle after struggling to unite behind someone capable of taking on the camps of pro-Europe centrist Emmanuel Macron and nationalist Eurosceptic Marine Le Pen. The once mighty Republicans party, LR, is due to choose a new leader next month with the post seen as a springboard for a crack at the French presidency in 2027. It has become a two-horse race between Bruno Retailleau, current interior minister, and Mr Wauquiez, who has lost ground to his popular rival in the polls. LR, which has spawned several heads of state, is a shadow of its former self, reduced to just 39 MPs in the 577-seat National Assembly after Emmanuel Macron called snap elections last year. By comparison, Marine Le Pen's National Rally has 143 seats, Macron's Ensemble Pour la République 94 and the hard-Left France Unbowed 71. Even the Socialists have 66. The Republicans were further enfeebled when former boss Eric Ciotti jumped ship last year to join forces with the National Rally. LR's leadership battle has come into even sharper focus since a court last week slapped an electoral ban on Ms Le Pen over a fake jobs scam at the European Parliament, effectively knocking her out of the presidential race unless she is cleared in an appeal next year. She has pledged to fight on, failing which her party will launch plan B for Jordan Bardella, her 29-year-old dauphin who is also party leader. Against this backdrop, rivals dismissed Mr Wauquiez's suggestion as Trump-style rhetoric. Boris Vallaud, leader of the Socialists in parliament, said the prospect of 'Guantanamo-on-Sea' was as 'shameful' as it was 'stupid'. Even Ms Le Pen scoffed that 'the place of people under obligation to leave French territory is in their country, certainly not in a French territory'. But others say they are missing the point. Mr Wauquiez is seeking to appeal to a small rump of 60,000-odd card-carrying LR party members who will decide the leadership race on May 17 and 18. And that includes appealing to their views on immigration, which has come to define the rhetoric of the Right and the demands of its voters. 'The LR base is more radical than the leadership,' said one of his aides. Mr Retailleau has also veered Right in the final stretch, slamming 'red judges' in the wake of the Le Pen verdict and speaking out against women wearing headscarves in sport. 'The logic is that with Marine Le Pen no longer a candidate, there is a race on the Right to conquer legitimacy, unite everyone behind you and hope to win in 2027,' said Philippe Moreau Chevrolet, political communication specialist. However, many Right-wingers are loath to vote for someone like Mr Retailleau who is 'minister in a government appointed by Emmanuel Macron and led by a centrist', said Prof Jean-Yves Camus, an expert on the French hard-Right. He has not made good his threat to resign due to the risk of losing visibility, further muddying the waters. But whoever wins the LR leadership race faces an uphill struggle keeping the French Right not just united, but also relevant, he added. Neither Mr Wauquiez nor Mr Retailleau would reach the presidential run-off, polls suggest. As things stand, both Ms Le Pen and Mr Bardella would comfortably reach round two of presidential elections in 2027 even if they would face a major challenge attracting enough votes to clinch the presidency. Their most likely current rival in the run-off would be Edouard Philippe, or failing that Gabriel Attal, both former Macron prime ministers. According to Gilles Richard, emeritus professor at Rennes university and historian of the French Right, the Republicans are still paying for failing to resolve the party's 'untenable' stance between 'pro-European neo-liberalism and identity-based nationalism', which has turned it into a 'headless duck'. 'The proof is that most of the pro-European neo-liberals have already moved to the Macron camp while the nationalists have gone over to Mr Ciotti,' he said. Moreover, support for the Le Pen camp has not faltered despite the embezzlement ruling and an underwhelming rally in her support in Paris last weekend in which she slammed a 'political decision' that 'flouted the rule of law and the state of democracy'. 'If they think that the ruling could lead to a collapse in voting intentions, they have not understood anything about the dynamics of the National [Rally] vote,' said Emeric Bréhier of the Jean-Jaurès foundation. As for RN, it has its own problems uniting the Right beyond its core support base. Last year, Mr Bardella published his memoir, Ce que je cherche (What I'm Looking For), in which he wrote: 'The idea of uniting working-class French people and part of the conservative bourgeoisie in a single movement – as Nicolas Sarkozy did in 2007 – is a good one.' But as uncertainty over Ms Le Pen's political future remains, the party faces an uphill struggle wooing more 'upper middle-class, educated' voters it won over in the last legislative elections, many of whom were shocked by its virulent criticism of the 'system' and judiciary in the wake of the Le Pen ban, according to Luc Rouban, political scientist attached to the CNRS and Sciences Po. RN could potentially join forces with Éric Zemmour, who launched his Reconquest party in 2021 and polled 2.4 million votes in the 2022 presidential election, 800,000 more than the Republicans. However, enmity remains over Ms Le Pen's refusal to enter into a coalition with Reconquest in 2022 and support for Mr Zemmour has nosedived since anyway. He is hovering around the 3-5 per cent mark in presidential voter intentions should he run. Prof Camus said: 'The idea of unifying the Right in France has been bandied about for 20 years. Nobody has managed it.' The only consolation, added Prof Richard, is that 'the Left are even an even worse state'. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
Telegraph
14-04-2025
- Politics
- Telegraph
Plot to drop migrants on freezing Atlantic island at heart of battle for French Right
Until two weeks ago, a freezing, sparsely populated French territory off Canada in the north Atlantic was unknown to most people in France, let alone the rest of the world. Since then, the archipelago of Saint Pierre and Miquelon has unexpectedly been thrust into the spotlight not once, but twice. First the windswept cluster of eight islands just off Newfoundland made headlines when Donald Trump inexplicably slapped 50 per cent trade tariffs on it. And then again when the president of the conservative Republicans party in the National Assembly suggested 'dangerous' foreigners should be sent there if they refused to leave the country. 'The average yearly temperature is 5C, there are 146 days of rain and snow. I think that quite rapidly, it will make everyone think,' Laurent Wauquiez told French TV channel CNews. Mr Wauquiez's announcement sparked shock and anger, but in the current climate it's fitting. With the next presidential election in two years, the French Right is locked in a bitter leadership battle after struggling to unite behind someone capable of taking on the camps of pro-Europe centrist Emmanuel Macron and nationalist Eurosceptic Marine Le Pen. The once mighty Republicans party, LR, is due to choose a new leader next month with the post seen as a springboard for a crack at the French presidency in 2027. It has become a two-horse race between Bruno Retailleau, current interior minister, and Mr Wauquiez, who has lost ground to his popular rival in the polls. LR, which has spawned several heads of state, is a shadow of its former self, reduced to just 39 MPs in the 577-seat National Assembly after Emmanuel Macron called snap elections last year. By comparison, Marine Le Pen's National Rally has 143 seats, Macron's Ensemble pour la République 94 and the hard-Left France Unbowed 71. Even the Socialists have 66. The Republicans were further enfeebled when former boss Eric Ciotti jumped ship last year to join forces with the National Rally. LR's leadership battle has come into even sharper focus since a court last week slapped an electoral ban on Ms Le Pen over a fake jobs scam at the European Parliament, effectively knocking her out of the presidential race unless she is cleared in an appeal next year. She has pledged to fight on, failing which her party will launch plan B for Jordan Bardella, her 29-year-old dauphin who is also party leader. Against this backdrop, rivals dismissed Mr Wauquiez's suggestion as Trump-style rhetoric. 'Shameful' and 'stupid' Boris Vallaud, leader of the Socialists in parliament, said the prospect of 'Guantanamo-on-Sea' was as 'shameful' as it was 'stupid'. Even Ms Le Pen scoffed that 'the place of people under obligation to leave French territory is in their country, certainly not in a French territory'. But others say they are missing the point. Mr Wauquiez is seeking to appeal to a small rump of 60,000-odd card-carrying LR party members who will decide the leadership race on May 17 and 18. And that includes appealing to their views on immigration, which has come to define the rhetoric of the Right and the demands of its voters. 'The LR base is more radical than the leadership,' said one of his aides. Mr Retailleau has also veered Right in the final stretch, slamming 'red judges' in the wake of the Le Pen verdict and speaking out against women wearing headscarves in sport. 'The logic is that with Marine Le Pen no longer a candidate, there is a race on the Right to conquer legitimacy, unite everyone behind you and hope to win in 2027,' said Philippe Moreau Chevrolet, a political communication specialist. However, many Right-wingers are loath to vote for someone like Mr Retailleau who is 'minister in a government appointed by Emmanuel Macron and led by a centrist', said Prof Jean-Yves Camus, an expert on the French hard-Right. He has not made good his threat to resign due to the risk of losing visibility, further muddying the waters. But whoever wins the LR leadership race faces an uphill struggle keeping the French Right not just united, but also relevant, he added. Neither Mr Wauquiez nor Mr Retailleau would reach the presidential run-off, polls suggest. Former PMs are likely rivals As things stand, both Ms Le Pen and Mr Bardella would comfortably reach round two of presidential elections in 2027 even if they would face a major challenge attracting enough votes to clinch the presidency. Their most likely current rival in the run-off would be Edouard Philippe, or failing that Gabriel Attal, both former Macron prime ministers. According to Gilles Richard, emeritus professor at Rennes university and historian of the French Right, the Republicans are still paying for failing to resolve the party's 'untenable' stance between 'pro-European neo-liberalism and identity-based nationalism', which has turned it into a 'headless duck'. He said: 'The proof is that most of the pro-European neo-liberals have already moved to the Macron camp while the nationalists have gone over to Mr Ciotti.' Moreover, support for the Le Pen camp has not faltered despite the embezzlement ruling and an underwhelming rally in her support in Paris last weekend in which she slammed a 'political decision' that 'flouted the rule of law and the state of democracy'. 'If they think that the ruling could lead to a collapse in voting intentions, they have not understood anything about the dynamics of the National [Rally] vote,' said Emeric Bréhier of the Jean-Jaurès foundation. As for RN, it has its own problems uniting the Right beyond its core support base. Last year, Mr Bardella published his memoir, Ce que je cherche (What I'm Looking For), in which he wrote: 'The idea of uniting working-class French people and part of the conservative bourgeoisie in a single movement – as Nicolas Sarkozy did in 2007 – is a good one.' But as uncertainty over Ms Le Pen's political future remains, the party faces an uphill struggle wooing more 'upper middle-class, educated' voters it won over in the last legislative elections, many of whom were shocked by its virulent criticism of the 'system' and judiciary in the wake of the Le Pen ban, according to Luc Rouban, political scientist attached to the CNRS and Sciences Po. Enmity remains RN could potentially join forces with Éric Zemmour, who launched his Reconquest party in 2021 and polled 2.4 million votes in the 2022 presidential election, 800,000 more than the Republicans. However, enmity remains over Ms Le Pen's refusal to enter into a coalition with Reconquest in 2022 and support for Mr Zemmour has nosedived since anyway. He is hovering around the 3-5 per cent mark in presidential voter intentions should he run. Prof Camus said: 'The idea of unifying the Right in France has been bandied about for 20 years. Nobody has managed it.' The only consolation, added Prof Richard, is that 'the Left are even an even worse state'.
Local France
09-04-2025
- Politics
- Local France
Outrage after France lawmaker suggests deporting migrants to Atlantic islands
French politics have shifted to the right in recent months, with the government increasingly picking up far-right talking points such as security and immigration. Algeria has refused to take back nationals France has ordered to leave, including a 37-year-old man who went on a stabbing rampage in the French city of Mulhouse in February, killing one person. "I suggest dangerous foreigners under order to leave French territory be locked up in a detention centre in Saint Pierre and Miquelon," Laurent Wauquiez, the parliamentary leader for the right-wing Les Republicains (LR) party, said on Tuesday. "They would have a choice: either go to Saint Pierre and Miquelon or return home," he told right-wing website JDnews. READ MORE: Saint Pierre et Miquelon: Why does France have two islands off the Canadian coast? Saint Pierre and Miquelon, an archipelago of eight islands located just off the Canadian island of Newfoundland, has a population of less than 6,000 people. It is one of several French overseas territories that span the globe. Advertisement Wauquiez, who is vying for the presidency of the LR party against popular Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau, said he hoped the island's climate would have a "deterrent effect". "The average yearly temperature is 5C, there are 146 days of rain and snow. I think that quite rapidly, it will make everyone think," he told CNews television broadcaster. Under French law, a prefect -- a local representative of the state -- can order a foreigner who does not have a residency permit or has newly arrived and is deemed a danger to public order to leave the country. At the moment, they have 30 days to leave on their own, or they are detained for a maximum of 60 days and the French administration organises their deportation. Advertisement Wauquiez said the detention period should be extended. 'Shameful' He faced criticism from across the political spectrum. Overseas Minister Manuel Valls, a centrist, rejected the idea. "Forced exile is the method of a settler, not an elected lawmaker," he said. France used to ship prisoners off to the penal colony of Cayenne, or "Devil's Island", in the overseas territory of French Guiana, but that ended in 1953. "The Cayenne jail is long gone and so it should," Valls added. Boris Vallaud, leader of the Socialists in parliament, said what he called Wauquiez's "Guantanamo-on-Sea" proposal was as "shameful" as it was "stupid". The new US administration has sent undocumented migrants to the US military prison of Guantanamo Bay in Cuba. Even far-right parliamentary leader Marine Le Pen was against the idea. "The place of people under obligation to leave French territory is in their country, certainly not in a French territory," said the three-time presidential candidate, who was sentenced over embezzlement and banned from running in the 2027 race last week. Wauquiez said his idea had not been inspired by US President Donald Trump, but by Australia sending undocumented migrants to the tiny Pacific nation of Nauru. Under a hardline policy introduced in 2012, Australia sent thousands of migrants attempting to reach the country by boat to "offshore processing" centres, including a detention centre on in Nauru. The scheme was gradually scaled back following 14 detainee deaths, multiple suicide attempts, and at least six referrals to the International Criminal Court.
The Independent
09-04-2025
- Politics
- The Independent
French presidential hopeful sparks outrage with bizarre remote island migrant plan
French presidential hopeful Laurent Wauquiez has sparked outrage in France, even within his own conservative circles, after proposing to send migrants awaiting deportation to the remote island of Saint Pierre and Miquelon, located off the coast of Canada. Wauquiez is among a crowded field of potential candidates vying for the conservative nomination in the upcoming 2027 presidential election. Many are competing to adopt the most hardline stance on immigration in an attempt to gain ground on the far-right National Rally. Wauquiez's proposal, made in a front-page interview with JDNews magazine, has caused consternation in France, including from the government his party supports and from within his own camp. "No French territory deserves to be treated like a relegation zone," said Manuel Valls, a former prime minister now in charge of overseas territories in Francois Bayrou's government. "Forced exile is the method of a coloniser, not that of an elected official of the French Republic," he said. Saint Pierre and Miquelon is a sparsely inhabited French-ruled archipelago located off the coast of northern Canada. The islands remain outside the Schengen free-travel area despite being a part of France. A map of Saint Pierre and Miquelon: The issue of illegal migrants whose deportation has been ordered but still remain in France has become a red-hot debate in France. The far right has seized on the issue of authorities failing to implement many of the so-called OQTF deportation orders - as a sign of weakness from the French state. However, even far-right leader Marine Le Pen criticised Wauquiez's idea. "The place for OQTF (migrants) is in their country, certainly not on French territory. The people of Saint Pierre and Miquelon are not second-rate citizens," she said on X. Some in Wauquiez's party said his proposal disqualified him as a potential presidential candidate. A primary is scheduled for May 17, with a possible second round on May 25. "Many of us thought it was fake news," a conservative lawmaker told Reuters on condition of anonymity. "It shows he won't stop at anything, even the most extreme proposals." Other European nations have explored schemes to transport migrants overseas. Italy 's government drew up plans to send illegal migrants to camps in Albania, evoking comparisons with Britain's aborted scheme to send asylum seekers to Rwanda. Wauquiez doubled down on his plan on Wednesday. "All the dangerous OQTFs to Saint Pierre and Miquelon. I stick to my guns," he said on X.
