Leader of centre-right party courts alliance with Le Pen

France's left-wing politicians focused on thwarting far right

- ALEXANDER BUTLER

The leader of France’s mainstream right has said he would back an alliance with Marine Le Pen’s far-right National Rally (RN) in snap elections announced by president Emmanuel Macron – sparking a backlash from his own party and shocking his opponents.

The head of the right-wing Republicans party, Eric Ciotti, said: “We need to have an alliance while remaining ourselves... an alliance with the National Rally and its candidates.” His party won around 7 per cent of the vote in the European parliamentary elections, while RN won more than 30 per cent of the vote and Mr Macron’s centrist ticket won only 15 per cent. Hours later, Mr Macron dissolved the French parliament.

A number of senior political figures connected to the Republicans party hit out at Mr Ciotti’s stance. Gerald Darmanin, the interior minister and a former member of the Republicans, said Mr Ciotti had “dishonoured” Gaullism (General Charles de Gaulle founded the movement).

He also accused Mr Ciotti of “signing the Munich agreement”, an appeasement deal reached in 1938 between Nazi Germany, France, the UK and Italy.