PARIS — Emmanuel Macron supporters are pushing to replace leftist MPs with far-right lawmakers in leadership positions in the French parliament — in a further sign that Europe’s mainstream is prepared to do deals with those it once shunned.

Together for the Republic, the largest parliamentary group that backs the French president, wants to address what it now sees as the “problem” of there being “too many” left-wing MPs in the National Assembly’s leadership, according to one of the group’s senior officials who spoke to POLITICO. 

That group, like Macron, is centrist. They are divided over how to handle Marine Le Pen’s ascendant far-right National Rally, which stands its best chance yet of winning the presidency in 2027. 

The Macron-backing group’s latest move is seen as a way of negating the far right’s argument that its voters are not being heeded. The exclusion of National Rally lawmakers from parliamentary jobs only fuels the party’s narrative of being a victim of the system, a pro-Macron MP said.

Any effort to bring in far-right MPs would further erode the so-called firewall or cordon sanitaire, invoked in many Western European countries and the European Parliament to keep the far right away from key institutional roles despite its growing electoral clout. 

According to French parliamentary convention, the allocation of leadership positions — which include vice-presidents, quaestors and secretaries — is supposed to reflect the makeup of the lower house. These leadership positions form the Bureau of the National Assembly — the body that manages internal discipline, sanctions unruly lawmakers, and oversees revisions to the chamber’s rulebook.

The left holds a disproportionate number of Bureau seats relative to its electoral strength, according to the Macron-allied official. Currently, most of the posts are held by left-leaning lawmakers, while National Rally holds none. 

Howls of protest

The debate over whether the National Rally should hold institutional power in parliament dates back to 2022, when Macron lost his majority for the first time and Le Pen’s party secured a record number of seats.

That year, the far right managed to clinch two of the six vice-president positions, thanks to votes from centrist and conservative MPs — despite howls of protest from the left-wing opposition.

After Macron stunned the country by dissolving parliament immediately after the National Rally’s crushing victory in the European election last June, National Rally MPs were shut out entirely from parliamentary leadership, as centrists declined to support their candidates. The left secured a majority of Bureau roles.

At the time, Macron described it as “not a good thing.” He said National Rally MPs were “legitimate,” adding: “There’s no such thing as a sub-MP.”

Macron ally François Bayrou, now prime minister, was similarly critical and called the exclusion “unacceptable.”

The French aren’t the only ones grappling with these questions. In Germany, the inclusion of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) sparked internal debate within the center-right Christian Democrats (CDU/CSU) after the AfD secured a second-place finish in national elections earlier this year. But in that case, the firewall ultimately held.

Nette Nöstlinger contributed to this report.