French President Emmanuel Macron is struggling to keep his party united with around 100 members stepping down over its “arrogant” and “undemocratic” style.
Macron surprisingly won the French election in May with his centrist Republic on the Move (LREM) party. The movement attracted people from both sides of the aisle under the promise that everyone would have a say regardless of political experience.
A group of “100 democrats” have published an open letter where they announce a mass exit planned for Friday, a day before the party’s first congress is scheduled to start. The group described the party as an “affront to the fundamental principles of democracy with an organizational style worthy of the ancient régime [before the revolution of 1789].”
“What a shame that by opting for a top-down organisation and a governance by elites, by shunning collective skills and intelligence, LREM has cut itself off from its life force,” the group said in the letter.
The names of the members have not been revealed, but Franceinfo reports the list primarily includes rank-and-file members, community politicians and local party officials.
Macron has suffered historically-low popularity for a new president during his first six months in office. Christophe Castaner, a former socialist, will be named LREM’s first party leader during the congress this weekend. His main job will be to change the party’s image of being a party for the elites.
“We need to reinvent our political movement,” Castaner told party members ahead of the congress, according to Reuters. “That is key to accompany the reforms carried out by the government and parliament.”
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