Macron allies urge grand coalition to defeat French far right

Two allies of Emmanuel Macron on Monday urged moderate political factions on the centre, left and right to unite behind a single candidate in order to defeat the far right in next year's elections to succeed the French president.

Their call comes after the far-right Alternative for Germany scored its biggest triumph yet Sunday in France's neighbour, winning by far the biggest share of the vote in the Saxony-Anhalt regional elections.

Clement Beaune, a former Europe minister, and former special advisor Philippe Grangeon, both Macron loyalists close to the president, said victory for four-time presidential candidate Marine Le Pen should not be seen as "a foregone conclusion".

"The key idea boils down to one sentence: no one will win or govern alone in 2027," they said in a joint text published in La Grande Conversation political journal.

There is growing concern in France that the sheer number of candidates stepping forward for the polls will dilute the vote and result in moderate forces being knocked out in the first round.

This would pave the way to a run-off between Le Pen of the far-right National Rally (RN) and hard-left France Unbowed (LFI) leader Jean-Luc Melenchon which Le Pen is projected to win.

Instead, the centrist bloc close to Macron but also the moderate left and right should unite into a coalition before it is too late, they said.

"We must therefore try to build a coalition before the presidential election, rather than improvising one in the heat of the moment on the evening of the run-off," they said.

Such a coalition could stretch from hopefuls including the former commentator Raphael Glucksmann on the left to right-wing ex-minister Xavier Bertrand although without the traditional right-wing Republicans (LR) party which has itself veered further right, they said.

The centrist bloc is particularly fragmented, with Macron's former premiers Edouard Philippe and Gabriel Attal putting forward rival candidacies and bickering in public.

"Marine Le Pen won't be beaten without a broad coalition, right from the first round," they said.

The strongest candidate should be made clear in opinion polls although a primary could be held, they said.

"No alternative is taking shape as yet. If we genuinely believe the situation is critical, then we must act with the gravity the moment demands," they said.

Beaune, who is now France's commissioner for strategy and planning, wrote on X: "We can see it once more in Germany -- the far right is on the threshold of power.

"We cannot carry on as before," he said.