European elections: former minister Julien Denormandie rules out the possibility of becoming head of the Renaissance list

He was once offered the position of prime minister, but he will not represent the majority in the European elections either. Former minister Julien Denormandie on Tuesday ruled out the possibility of leading the Renaissance list in the European elections, and the presidential camp has still not appointed its leader. “No, this is not relevant at all. Today this issue is not on the agenda,” Julien Denormandie confirmed on Sud Radio.

“Today I have other climate commitments in an entrepreneurial project (…) I am very pleased with these new commitments. I think we can serve the common interest not only through politics,” explained this early support from Emmanuel Macron, whose name has been circulating in Matignon this winter.

The former minister of cities and housing, and then of agriculture, who has many supporters in the presidential majority, together with academic Eric Orsenna publishes the essay “Nutrition without destruction. A Brief Description of Globalization” (Flammarion).

Matignon does not “refuse”

Prime Minister, “this is one of the functions that cannot be given up, I sincerely believe in it,” he said. After the appointment of Gabriel Attal to Matignon in early January and a series of reshuffles that lasted a month, Macron’s camp still must name the head of its list for the European elections in June, with the president’s decision removing the majority.

Several names are circulating on the list of Renaissance leaders, including that of MEP Valérie Ayer, who succeeded Stéphane Séjournet as president of the Renewal (Renaissance) group in the European Parliament. According to an Ifop poll published this Monday, four months before the elections, the National Rally is still leading the vote, 10 points ahead of the presidential majority, regardless of who tops the list tested.

The list, led by Jordan Bardella, received 28 to 29% of the vote, down slightly. As for the majority, after Olivier Veran last month (19%), Ifop tested three new personalities for the Europeans: Julien Denormandie (19%), former minister Clément Beaune (19%) and Valerie Hayer (18%).

In another study carried out by Elabe for La Tribune Dimanche and BFMTV, the majority list has a voting intention of 16.5% (-1.5%) compared to 27.5% (-1%) for the RN. In March 2019, the Macron camp appointed Nathalie Loiseau as head of its list. RN took first place with 23.3% of the vote, with a small lead over the presidential party (22.4%).