Several potential candidates are being considered in Macron’s camp for the 2024 European elections.
Who will Emmanuel Macron choose as the leader of the presidential camp’s list for the European elections on June 9, 2024? Many individuals have expressed their interest in recent weeks, including Stéphane Séjourné, the Secretary General of Renaissance and President of the liberal Renew Europe group in the European Parliament, Clément Beaune, the Minister Delegate for Transport, Thierry Breton, the European Commissioner for the Internal Market, Laurence Boone, the Secretary of State for Europe, and Pascal Canfin, the President of the Environment Committee in the European Parliament.
At the Elysée, there is still a debate about the personal and political qualities that the lead candidate for the European elections should possess. Some insist on the need to choose a media personality, experienced in debates on news channels and capable of standing up to Jordan Bardella, who will lead the National Rally’s list. Others believe that a profile is needed that primarily appeals to the right.
Tous sont conscients que ce choix doit aussi se faire en tenant compte des postes d’influence que la France pourra briguer dans les institutions communautaires. Et du poids qu’elle aura dans les négociations qui précéderont la nomination, après le scrutin de juin 2024, des prochains présidents de la Commission, du Conseil et du Parlement européens.
Stéphane Séjourné, a long-time companion of Emmanuel Macron, has a clear vision of the strategy he intends to defend for the European elections and the potential leader he could be. As the Secretary General of Renaissance, a skilled political strategist, he is aware of his weaknesses – relatively unknown to the general public and not the most charismatic for a televised debate – but he is certain that this is not the most important aspect.
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“In 2019, we tested Nathalie Loiseau [head of the presidential camp] before the campaign, and she had a 5% recognition rate. In the end, it was at 53%. And she did not appear on the 8 PM news on TF1,” her camp recalls. They continue, “A good head of the list is someone who speaks to their electorate. For the European left, it is necessary to sell the political project. For the European right, it is necessary to sell France’s role in Brussels.”
The hypothesis of Thierry Breton being considered for a more right-wing profile is being tested by the Elysée, as reported by the newspaper Les Echos on September 14. Since being in Brussels, the former Minister of Economy under Jacques Chirac has been very present in the media. He likes to present himself as the one who ensured that Europeans had enough vaccines against Covid-19 during the pandemic or who made Apple comply by requiring them to equip their new iPhone 15 with a charger compatible with competitor products.
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