(Reuters) – Leaders of the party founded by extreme-right presidential candidate Eric Zemmour, who was knocked out in the first round of France’s presidential race, have called for a coalition of right and far-right political parties ahead of the country’s legislative elections in June.
Zemmour, who had proposed to deport all unemployed immigrants and block remittances, saw support crumble in the polls after Russia invaded Ukraine and far-right voters rallied around Marine Le Pen, who had already challenged President Emmanuel Macron in the second round of the 2017 presidential election.
The executive vice-presidents of Zemmour’s Reconquest party said in Le Figaro newspaper they were open to talks with Le Pen’s National Rally, as well as The Republicans and Debout La France.
“This choice does not call into question the singularity of our line and our strategy, which cannot be found anywhere else in the political spectrum,” said Le Pen’s niece Marion Marechal, Guillaume Peltier and Nicolas Bay in a joint statement.
“We are concerned that this campaign between the two rounds of the election is being played out on left-wing positions”, they added.
Macron’s polling lead has widened ahead of Sunday’s runoff, but his prime minister said his win was not guaranteed as both he and Le Pen seek to court voters who backed far-left leader Jean-Luc Melenchon in the first round.
Melenchon has on Tuesday urged voters to elect him as prime minister in the legislative vote. He came in at a narrow third place in the first round of the presidential elections, with 22% of the vote to Le Pen’s 23%.
(Reporting by Sarah Morland; Edited by Benoit Van Overstraeten)
