Michel Barnier’s French Presidential Election bid failed after rival candidates were voted in by the Conservative Party to take on Emmanuel Macron.
The former Brexit negotiator, 70, was today knocked out of the race for the 2022 presidential election after the Republicans party on Thursday chose a hard-right MP and the Paris region chief as its finalists.
This result was unexpected and disappointing for Barnier (by far the oldest hopeful) and ex-health minister Xavier Bertrand who had been seen as front-runners by many.
Barnier suffered a major setback in his personal life. He won admirers for handling the Brexit negotiations well but was criticized for pushing for an immigration moratorium during his campaigning.
Michel Barnier was today eliminated from the race for 2022’s presidential election. This happened after the conservative party selected a hard-right MP, and the Paris regional chief as its finalist.
Barnier complained about France’s big decline’ and claimed President Emmanuel Macron’s leadership style (pictured below) was too arrogant, single-minded and ineffective to repair divisions
Barnier was appointed by the European Commission as the European Union’s chief negotiator on Brexit. He managed negotiations leading to a UK-UK withdrawal agreement, which was finally reached in February 2020.
Eric Ciotti (from the southern city, Nice) won the initial round of the Republicans primary. Valerie Pecresse was second, and a moderate head of the Greater Paris region came in at the same time. Both will meet in the second round of voting, which will result in Saturday’s announcement.
Barnier proposes a moratorium in immigration to correct Europe’s broken laws on migration. Barnier also calls for soldiers to protect communities where the police have lost control. Barnier advocates an election to restore military service.
He was also critical of France’s upcoming ‘big fall’ and stated that President Emmanuel Macron’s leadership style is too arrogant, single-minded and ineffective to repair divisions.
Barnier, who is a hardliner on immigration, vowed to pull France from the Treaty of Touquet that governs Anglo-French borders relations. If he wins the election
The 2003 agreement established immigration control points in Dover and Calais for each country. Britain has responsibility for the security and financing of its northern French border stations. France must stop illegal immigrants from reaching the UK.
Paris claims that the British are actually managing their border with continental Europe. They have also claimed that the treaty has resulted in huge numbers of migrants setting up campsites – such as the infamous Jungle dismantled in 2016 – at its ports as they attempt to enter Britain.
London has accused the French of failing to stop migrants illegally crossing the Narrow Sea, despite paying Paris £54million in instalments to increase patrols in a bid to curb Channel voyages.
Barnier was disappointed (picutred) and the result defied all poll expectations. He won admirers for his skillful handling Brexit negotiations.
Valerie Pecresse (left), a moderate, heads the greater Paris area, while Eric Ciotti (right), hails from the southern part of Nice and won the primary round.
France previously suggested that checks could be lifted on migrants, if Britain does not back down in ongoing post-Brexit disputes over fishing licenses.
Barnier’s campaign was not convincing enough to convince the party and Barnier came third in the voting with 24%.
The results were close for the four leading candidates, with Ciotti garnering 25.6 per cent and Pecresse 25 per cent, followed by Barnier with 23 per cent and Bertrand with 22 per cent. Phillipe Juvin (an outsider and doctor who became a prominent figure during the Covid pandemic) received just 3.1%.
Analysts consider the outcome of the primary election to be crucial for the direction of the election. Current polls indicate that Macron is the clear favorite to win the election. However, the former investment banker and centrist Macron has yet to confirm his re-election bid.
According to a poll by Ifop-Fiducial, a market-and-social research organization for Le Journal du Dimanche and Sud Radio this week, President Macron’s liberal-centrist party would receive 25% or more votes in today’s first round.
The polling shows that no candidate has surpassed 10% on the left. Jean-Luc Melenchon from France Unbowed is at the top with 8.5%.
With Macron hoping to reap the benefits of his pandemic management, which saw vaccination rates rise and there being fewer restrictions in Europe than elsewhere, it seems that April 2022 will be markedly dominated by security and immigration concerns.
Republicans’ party, which traces it back to right-wing presidents Jacques Chirac or Nicolas Sarkozy has seen its membership increase to about 140,000 over the past weeks. 81 percent cast ballots in round one of voting.