It’s instead adding fuel to the vicious internecine battle, and senior centrist figures are increasingly alarmed.
“You’ve seen the polls, let’s name what is happening: It is a collapse of all those who refuse the extremes,” former prime minister and veteran centrist François Bayrou said Tuesday in an interview with BFMTV.
Fighting for match point
In circles close to President Emmanuel Macron, fears are growing that Le Pen and Mélenchon are the only candidates with compelling political narratives.
“Moderate forces need to come up with an innovative and original political offering,” said one of Macron’s close allies who, like others quoted in this piece, was granted anonymity to speak frankly about the state of the presidential race.
Attal, who leads Macron’s Renaissance party, has campaigned throughout the summer promoting proposals on education, immigration and criminal justice reform. But on Tuesday he ruffled feathers by saying the centrist bloc didn’t have a front-runner despite most surveys — including one published Wednesday — showing Philippe ahead of Attal and the conservative Retailleau.
Attal and Philippe have promised to eventually unite around whichever one of them is polling better — Philippe said that would happen between November and February — but their rivalry is getting nastier.