Beware of implosion. The Les Républicains party fractured this Monday, October 13, after some of its members opted the day before to join the government of Lecornu II, against the decision of the head of the right-wing party, Bruno Retailleau. To respond to these rebels, LR announced their exclusion, before making a definitive statement “in the coming days”, thus opening an internal crisis.
There are six, including some important figures of the party: Rachida Dati (Culture), Annie Genevard (Agriculture), Philippe Tabarot (Transport), Vincent Jeanbrun (Housing), Sébastien Martin (Industry) and Nicolas Forissier (Foreign Trade).
His election further characterizes LR’s divisions. Already visible for several days, they appeared regarding the strategy to be adopted against the government.
Everything started from the previous one, the one formed on Sunday, October 5. Known to the Interior, Bruno Retailleau immediately questioned the participation of LR, ensuring that the return to the activity of Bruno Le Maire, former Minister of Economy, often portrayed by the opposition as responsible for the diversion of public finances, had been hidden from him. Some were taken aback by this change of course, which precipitated the government’s resignation.
“The dissolution really terrified the deputies”
The rebellion then became more pressing when Emmanuel Macron decided, five days later, to reappoint Sébastien Lecornu to Matignon. The political office of LR, acquired from Bruno Retailleau, decided the same day to no longer participate in the government adventure. A decision made to the great dismay of the majority of MPs.
Now everyone is passing the buck. Some, like an LR colleague, consider that “the prospect of dissolution really terrified the deputies”, “the more we talked about it, the more they said: participation in the government.” The others, on the contrary, dismiss this argument: “We are not afraid of losing our positions,” says deputy Thibault Bazin, specifying: “In any case, we are quite convinced that there will be a dissolution no matter what, no later than May 2027.”
The same progress as the appointment and re-election of LR ministers responds to a certain exasperation among the French. “People are fed up with this mess, they just want us to get along, to do our job. France needs a budget, so everyone takes responsibility,” he explains.
“Wauquiez has only one objective: to undermine Bruno’s authority”
Like him, many LR deputies do not feel tied hand and foot to the party. Many say they campaigned in the last legislative elections without the financial support of their political party. So much so that they consider that they owe their choice above all to themselves.
Faced with these elected officials, often described as “autonomous”, Bruno Retailleau never managed to prevail. Unlike a certain Laurent Wauquiez, his boss in the Assembly. In fact, the Haute Loire deputy takes advantage of the sequence to reactivate the duel with the former head of the LR senators after having lost widely against him at the party congress on May 18.
As a symbol, the two men arrived separately at the Elysée on Friday, when Emmanuel Macron had invited the different political parties, except LFI and RN, to consultations on the future government.
“It is the elephant in the middle of the room,” acknowledges a former LR minister. “Bruno’s reaction was sincere and honest, of a guy who felt cheated. Then Wauquiez, who has extraordinary political skill, has only one goal: to undermine Bruno’s authority. He is quite successful at the moment.”
This elected official wonders about the “brutality of Bruno Retailleau’s reaction.” “I think the worst mistake would be to overreact. Suppose Rachida Dati is elected mayor of Paris (during the municipal elections in March 2026, editor’s note). This would mean that in six months we will not be able to say that we have won Paris,” he underlines.
A consultation with members to strengthen their position
Before recommending other avenues for members of the LR Government, such as a suspension “for the duration of their ministerial mandate.”
In any case, our interlocutor has few illusions about the fact that the coming days will be very complicated for the right. “MPs will overwhelmingly support former MPs who have become or remain ministers. There are all the seeds of a major crisis in the party,” he believes.
Sometimes very popular in polls during his periods in the Barnier and Bayrou governments, Bruno Retailleau risks losing feathers in the sequence.
Weakened by these divisions, which question their authority, the Vendeans will try to regain control. Between Monday and Tuesday, a consultation is organized for LR members, who elected him party leader with almost 75% of the votes. The latter will be questioned about the political bureau’s decision to refuse to participate in the government.
Source: BFM TV
