On Tuesday, Ciotti said his party would unite with the camps of Marine Le Pen and Jordan Bardella in a joint effort to beat Macron. But the proposal shocked leading voices within the republic, including 2022 presidential candidate Valery Pecresse and Senate President Gérard Larchet, who immediately called for Ciotti’s resignation.
Upon being expelled from the party, a rebellious Ciotti wrote to “I am and remain the Chairman of our party, elected by our members! “Any decision made at this meeting will have no legal consequences,” he said.
Annie Genevard, secretary-general of Les Républicains, called an extraordinary meeting of the political committee on Wednesday to decide Chiotti’s fate. Ciotti closed the party headquarters citing security concerns, calling the decision “illegal.”
Despite Ciotti’s objections, the party’s political committee met in a separate location and voted to expel him.
Genevard will assume interim leadership of the party alongside François-Xavier Bellamy, who led the party’s candidacy in the European elections.
Macron surprised French politics by announcing that he would call early elections after his party lost in the European elections. Now that left-wing forces are achieving good results by running together, a coalition of right-wing parties no longer seems possible.
