Emmanuel Macron’s European minister, Clement Bonn, is at the center of a brutal political battle in Paris this weekend as the centrist French government tries to win a parliamentary majority against a new left-wing alliance.
Bonn, 40, considered a rising star in Macron’s entourage, helped shape the French president’s pro-European policies – influenced by his international student days in Dublin and Belgium – and glorified pressure on the UK during last year’s fisheries rights dispute. after Brexit.
But now a career civil servant is running in his first race, standing as a member of parliament in a constituency in Paris that stretches from tourist attractions and gay bars in the Marais district to the noble streets and social housing in the east. It is seen as one of the defining political battles during Macron’s second term.
Opposing Bonn is Carolyn McCarthy, 59, one of France’s leading lawyers on equality issues for same-sex couples and a well-known LGBTQ + rights activist advocating for a new left-wing alliance. An Ifop survey in early June found that Mécary was 51% ahead of Bonn.
If Bonn wins, he will become one of the biggest strikers in the center-left of the French cabinet and may one day run for mayor of Paris. If he loses, he will have to leave the government.
Attorney Caroline McCarthy advocates for a new left-wing alliance. Photo: Reuters
Recently re-elected President Macron needs a majority for his broad centrist group in this month’s two-round parliamentary elections to have a free hand on his plans to review the pension and pension system and cut taxes.
But the left-wing alliance, led by the radical left-wing Jean-Luc Melenchon, including the Greens and the Socialist Party, is rising in the election, trying to limit Macron’s lead. Without an absolute majority of 289 in the 577-seat chamber, the French president may have to seek alliances on the right. Sociological experts predict that the left could take up to 205 seats, becoming the largest opposition force, and Marin Le Pen’s far right will potentially take 20 to 50 seats.
Macron launched a fierce last-minute offensive against the Left Alliance, describing Melenchon as a dangerous extremist who would kill the European Union, ally with Russia and add to the “world chaos”. Economy Minister Bruno Le Mer called Melenchon “Gallic Chavez”, referring to the former Venezuelan leader. “Does this man eat children?” asked the left-wing daily Libération, criticizing the government’s attacks on Melenchon.
During the election campaign, Bonn told a meeting in a school boardroom in eastern Paris that this was “the most important French parliamentary election in 40 years because it is uncertain and divisive.” He said there was both “strong anger” among some voters and a “strong sense of disinterest” from others. Sociologists predict that less than half of the French electorate will turn out to vote.
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Bonn said Melenchon’s political agenda, including a policy of circumventing certain European treaty rules, was “dangerous, absurd and excessive”. But what really worries him, he said, is that the political debate is becoming more and more “radicalized,” “divided,” and “brutal,” and now it needs “calm.”
The central constituency in Paris has historically voted to the left before electing a pro-Macron centrist candidate five years ago, but some supporters have warned Bonn that there is opposition on the ground against Macron raising the retirement age.
Campaign Bonn poster. Photo: Reuters
Bonn introduced himself as a Social Democrat who defended equality. He appeared gay in front of a French magazine in 2020, saying it was “not an obstacle” to being in government, and also spoke about members of his Jewish family who had been deported to Auschwitz. His father, a former professor of medicine at a hospital, helped him with the ballot.
Bonn’s opponent, McCarthy, is waging a fierce campaign against ordinary people, especially in eastern Paris. A former member of the Pro-European Greens who was an adviser in Paris, she was never a member of Melanchon’s stubborn party, France Unbowed. She calls herself “above all a lawyer and a candidate from civil society.” But she was trying to harness Melenchon’s support in the presidential election when he narrowly missed out on a place in the second round that pitted Macron against Le Pen.
In a leaflet at a market near the Bastille, McCarthy said: “What I hear from local voters is a desire for change and for Macron not to have all the power in his hands in parliament. People are worried about hospitals and schools and the protection of public services. They believe that Macron does not see or hear ordinary working-class citizens.
Visiting market stalls with two strongly pro-European members of the Socialist Party, McCarthy refuted Bonn’s claims that she was anti-European. “When Clement Bonn was five, I was graduating from the Sorbonne in European Law,” she said.
“It will be very close here,” said a retired hospital worker at a fruit stand. “I voted for Macron as president just to avoid the far right. I will now vote on the left to send a message to Macron – to protect hospitals and schools, not just rule for the rich.
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