Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy (2007-2012), a conservative, on Tuesday expressed public support for Emmanuel Macron in the second round of presidential elections, when the center-right French leader will contest the Élysée Palace with the ultra-right Marine Le Pen.
“I will vote for Macron because I believe he has the necessary experience to deal with the international crisis we face, which is more complex than ever,” he wrote on a social network, probably referring to the Ukrainian War, a conflict in which the French president has assumed a diplomatic role.
Sarkozy’s support, which has been in the crosshairs of French justice for years, was met with caution by Macron’s allies. On the one hand, it is seen as a possible facilitator for those who voted for Valérie Pécresse, the candidate of the Republican Party – Sarkozy’s acronym -, in the first round to choose Macron in the second.
Pécresse received only 4.8% of valid votes, amid a process of loss of strength of traditional French acronyms, being the fifth most voted. Sarkozy himself did not express public support for her, who was a minister in his government, in a move that analysts read as an attempt to bring Macron closer.
Projections by the French Institute of Public Opinion (Ifop) show that 35% of Pécresse voters intend to vote for Macron in the second round, and another 35% are expected to mark Le Pen’s name on the ballot. The remaining 30% must abstain, vote blank or cancel participation in the election.
On the other hand, however, the support of the former Republican president was also seen as a threat to the attraction of the left-wing electorate, the main slice that Macron and Le Pen are now vying for. Some allies of the current president see the approach as a window for more voters on this spectrum to decide not to vote in the second round.
A former Socialist Party minister close to Macron told Reuters news agency that Sarkozy is a figure respected by much of the right, but there is no unanimity around his name, and he remains something of a bogeyman for the left.
Together, the acronyms of the French left added up to just over 30% of the votes in the first round, with emphasis on Jean-Luc Mélenchon, from França Insubmissa, who got 22%.
Of its voters, 33% say they want to vote for Macron in the second round. Another 23%, however, say they will vote for Le Pen, contradicting guidance given by Mélenchon himself so that no left-wing vote is transferred to the ultra-right. Most (44%) are those who intend to abstain, vote blank or cancel participation.
The former right-wing president and Macron have become closer over the past five years. Sources close to the government report that the current French leader even invited Sarkozy to dinners at the French government headquarters and asked him for political advice.
Also in the publication in which he expressed support for Macron, he demonstrated the possible partisan rapprochement. “A new era is beginning, and this requires profound changes; we will need to change our habits and share reflections,” he wrote.
