Elisabeth Born, Prime Minister of France, with Emmanuel Macron, President Photo: STEPHANIE LECOCQ/AFP
Emmanuel Macron gave his Prime Minister left-leaning minister exposes claims that Marine Le Pen's far-right party is the «heiress» of Nazi-era collaborators.
News of the clash comes amid reports that Macron's relationship with Elizabeth Bourne has deteriorated further tensed and that he might fire her.
On Sunday, Ms Bourne said the National Rally (RN), formerly known as the National Front, were «the heirs of [Philippe] Pétain,» who was the head of the French regime Vichy, who collaborated with the Nazis during World War II. .
But Mr Macron reportedly lambasted her at a cabinet meeting, saying: «You can't make the millions of French people who voted far right believe they're fascists.»
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Reportedly, he added that the only way to fight them was politics, not «moral arguments.»
The prime minister's comments infuriated the Le Pen camp, which has become Macron's main opposition in recent years. Jordan Bardella demanded an official apology for the words, which «shocked many French people.»
Ms Le Pen lost to Mr Macron in two presidential elections, but recent polls show she is now more popular than him.
She is leading a long-term campaign to «demonize» her party and rid it of the legacy of its former leader, her father Jean-Marie Le Pen, who was convicted of racism and called the Nazi gas chambers a «piece of history».
Polls show that a record number of French people now consider RN mainstream and no longer consider Le Pen as a threat to the Republic.
But Ms Bourne, 62, the daughter of a Holocaust survivor who later committed suicide, told Radio J on Sunday that she doesn't believe in RN's «normalization» and that it still has a «dangerous ideology.»
However, Mr. Macron reportedly told her such comments would only play into their hands.
“The fight against the extreme right no longer revolves around moral arguments!” Macron is said to have informed the Cabinet of Ministers about this. He urged his forces to discredit RN on the merits and point out «inconsistencies» in its policies rather than using «words from the 90s that no longer work.»
His comments come amid mounting political tensions over Mr Macron's flagship pension reform, which he pushed through parliament without a vote. Some commentators have warned that this unpopular move opened the way for Le Pen to become president in 2027. Macron will not run in this election as he cannot run for a third consecutive term.
Priority is given to the President of France < p>Mr Macron has repeatedly insisted that fighting the RN should be a priority for his camp, telling allies that Ms. Le Pen will win the keys to the Elysee Palace «if we don't know how to respond to the country's challenges and if we get into the habit of lying or denying reality.»
French media have reported in recent weeks that Ms Born is tired of being sidelined by Mr Macron by announcing political initiatives himself. Some say he is considering replacing her in a reshuffle.
On Wednesday, the French president tried to soften any differences by saying she had «my full confidence.»
«When I I had something to say to the prime minister over the past six years, I did it one on one,” he insisted.
But he repeated his messages that it was no longer possible to defeat RN on moral grounds. It wasn't enough «because the far right has transformed» and many voters support them «not because of their history, but because at the root they say, 'We haven't tried it yet.'»
the comments were criticized by the main party of the Republican right, whose parliamentary leader Olivier Marlet said Macron used the «demonization» of Ms Le Pen to win two elections. «Now that he is no longer eligible for re-election, I find it extremely unpleasant to come and say 'après moi le déluge' [after me, deluge].»
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