French PM kicks off European election campaign in Strasbourg

Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne kicked off the European election campaign in Strasbourg on Tuesday ahead of a tour of the EU Parliament, where she will meet with her ‘European family’ Renew and has plans to speak with Renew group Chairman Stéphane Séjourné.

On Tuesday, Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne took advantage of the inauguration of the Simone-Veil building in Strasbourg, which will be rented out to the European Parliament, to support “the vitality of European democracy.

“The Union is here to stay”, she said, at a time when the far-right, the majority’s main rival in the forthcoming European elections, is leading the polls.

According to an OpinionWay poll published on Monday, the far-right Rassemblement National list would win the European elections, nine points ahead of the majority list (28% to 19%).

Borne recalled that Simone Veil was the first woman elected to the European Parliament by universal suffrage. “Let us draw strength from her example to defend our values and move the European Union forward”, she said.

EU Parliament President Roberta Metsola also paid tribute to the campaigner behind the law on abortion, a woman who “believed in humanity and reconciliation”.

After recently calling on the elected members of the majority to mobilise “as of now” for the European elections and defending republican values during her most recent trip to Ireland, Elisabeth Borne is kicking off the European election campaign in Strasbourg, “one of the capitals of Europe”.

She will begin with a tour of her ‘European family’ to promote the majority’s European record and defend its positions against the far-right. In particular, she will be talking to Renew group Chairman Stéphane Séjourné and then to the group’s French MEPs.

What’s more, this European exposure is raising questions at a time when the head of the majority list has still not been decided: will Elisabeth Borne go? The hypothesis comes from “malicious people who don’t like her” and want her to leave the rue de Varenne (the Prime Minister’s office), a senior member of the majority told AFP.

Other names in circulation include Stéphane Séjourné, European Commissioner Thierry Breton and Secretary of State for Europe Laurence Boone. The candidate should be revealed in January.

(Hugo Struna | Euractiv.fr)