Sarkozy is preparing for the post-Macron era. And he is staking everything on Le Pen

Former President of the Republic Nicolas Sarkozy is reportedly working behind the scenes on an alliance between the Gaullist right and the Rassemblement National (RN), with a view to a victory for Marine Le Pen in the 2027 presidential election, which he now considers a certainty. The scoop comes from Le Canard enchaîné and describes a hyperactive Sarkozy less than six months before the first round. Over the past two weeks, the former occupant of the Élysée Palace is said to have received several leaders of the Gaullist right at his offices on Rue Miromesnil in Paris, including the current president of Les Républicains (LR), Bruno Retailleau, and the EU’s former chief Brexit negotiator, Michel Barnier. The aim: to persuade them to form a coalition with Marine Le Pen’s RN following her victory, which the former president takes for granted.

According to Sarkozy, the traditional right must prepare to govern alongside the sovereigntist leader so as not to find itself merely a bystander to the new balance of power that will emerge in the spring. Some have mentioned the name of David Lisnard, mayor of Cannes and a rising figure in the liberal right, as a potential prime minister in a Le Pen–Gaullist coalition. “There is a Sarkozy-Bolloré plan for an alliance with the far right,” a former president of the Gaullists told Le Canard on condition of anonymity. But there is more to it. According to the weekly’s article, there is also a legal ulterior motive behind Sarkozy’s manoeuvre. On 30 November, the Paris Court of Appeal will rule on the case concerning Libyan funding of the 2007 election campaign. The prosecution has sought a seven-year prison sentence, a €300,000 fine and a five-year ban on holding public office; and, should he be convicted, Le Canard points out, “a small amnesty granted by a President Le Pen would be welcome”. Sarkozy no longer wishes to be merely a former head of state dispensing advice to his political family, but the architect of a united right-wing front.