The political field of ruins pleads for the reconstruction of the right

The municipal elections have thrown the final shovel of dirt on the surpassing of the right-left divide, a cornerstone of Emmanuel Macron’s 2017 project. Dismaying for those who had faith in this pledge of democratic renewal, it was the Macronists themselves who held the shovel. Renaissance was unable to present lead candidates in more than 24 cities with over 30,000 inhabitants (out of 287) and favored support or alliances with right-wing candidates in almost all cases. By tucking their flag away, the presidential family suffered a harsh rebuke: 0.03% of the votes in the first round for Renaissance, 0.05% for the MoDem, electoral dwarfs overshadowed by two blocs of right and left, admittedly shattered.

Paris illustrates this abdication to the extreme. In the first round, the MoDem betrays its centrist heritage by aligning with the right-wing candidate Rachida Dati, instead of joining forces with the centrist candidate, Pierre-Yves Bournazel. In the second round, the latter throws in the towel under the unmentionable pressures from his camp. Worse, after the withdrawal of the Reconquête candidate, the merged list led by Rachida Dati forces, without much resistance, the candidates who are still called Macronists to submit their election of Paris councilors to the support of the extreme right. In May 2017, in front of the Louvre pyramid, “Ode to Joy” heralded a new political world, in March 2026 this hope dissipates to the sounds of a requiem.