Editorial: El País

• The moderate right in France is in an existential crisis due to the progressive loss of power and votes in favor of Emmanuel Macron and Marine Le Pen.
• President Macron's decision to call legislative elections has accelerated this process.
• The Republicans (LR) party faces a Faustian dilemma: to maintain its republican essence or to pact with Le Pen to form a “union of the right”.
• LR president Éric Ciotti announced an agreement to present joint candidacies with Le Pen's RN, provoking an internal rebellion within the party.
• The alliance with Le Pen is seen as a betrayal to the principles of the party and its defense of the sanitary cordon against the extreme right.
• Ciotti was dismissed from his role as LR president, though he did not accept the decision.
• Part of Ciotti's attitude can be explained by affinities with RN on issues such as immigration.
• The internal dispute within LR also reflects Ciotti's desire to secure a post in an RN government and the rebel leaders' desire to prevent their party from being devoured by the extreme right.

Conclusion: Tensions within The Republicans could lead to a split or even its disappearance. However, strong right-wing parties with clear principles against radicals are still necessary in our democracies.

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