France’s National Rally wants a say in pick for EU commissioner

France’s National Rally wants a say in pick for EU commissioner

 

The pick for the French commissioner could be a matter of contention between Macron and a possible future far-right government.

 

"The European commissioner will have to be aligned with our desire to defend a certain number of French interests within the Commission," Jordan Bardella said. |

 

JUNE 24, 2024 1:00 PM CET

BY PAUL DE VILLEPIN, ANTHONY LATTIER AND VICTOR GOURY-LAFFONT

https://www.politico.eu/article/france-national-rally-jordan-bardella-eu-commissioner-top-jobs/

 

PARIS — With days left before a potential make-or-break meeting between European leaders which could decide on the EU’s top jobs, a new actor wants a say: the French far right.

 

Voters in France will head to the polls on June 30, in less than a week, for the first round of voting in the snap legislative elections called by President Emmanuel Macron after his party’s debacle in the European election. If polling proves true, the far-right National Rally (RN) could once again secure a landslide victory, with an absolute majority in the National Assembly now within reach.

 

Responding to a question from POLITICO during a press conference on Monday, the RN’s President Jordan Bardella said he was “exploring” who to push for to become the next French commissioner if his party wins an absolute majority and leads the new government.

 

“The European commissioner will have to be aligned with our desire to defend a certain number of French interests within the Commission,” he added.

 

Macron has repeatedly stated that he would not resign even if the RN won over the National Assembly. If the far right and its allies win a majority, the president could nonetheless be forced into appointing Bardella as prime minister — which would propel France into a period of cohabitation, when the president and government are not part of the same political camp.

 

As France only holds one pick for a commissionner position, “it would be a coup de force if the president made the appointment before the elections and without the approval of the future majority,” said an RN executive close to Bardella.

 

During the three previous cohabitations — twice with a Socialist president and conservative prime ministers and once with a right-wing president and a left-wing prime minister — France had two picks for commissioner, which allowed it to leave one to the prime minister and the other to the president.

 

With only one commissioner, it is unclear who would get the final say, but Bardella clearly believes the choice should be his: “The responsibility of making a proposal belongs to the government,” he said. “It will be among the first decisions we make.”