Simon Heffer obviously does not understand the French [political] system.
Emmanuel Macron did not create a new party, he called for all people of good will who wanted to unite (Right, Left, Centre…) to rally round him and work together according to the manifesto that he submitted to the French for the Presidential election.
There are no party members as such, as no-one pays dues on a yearly basis. A French president does not have to have a party to be elected.
The movement has not evaporated and has a majority of MPs and a large number of adhérents. Jean-Luc Mélenchon even declared that he had lost the first round. Heffer calls the FN a UKIP-type party quite mistakenly.
The FN is not a new entity with one agitator who only wants one thing. It’s an old party. It was created in October 1972 and revolves around a family, the Le Pens.
Parliament is working towards achieving what the manifesto explained and there is no reason to think that Macron will not succeed.
P. Dupont, Aube
Mr Heffer replies: “M. Dupont is correct to say that no French president needs a party to be elected. But M Macron did found a party – En Marche! – and its membership is evaporating. That is the main point I was making.”
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