Leader of France's conservative Les Republicains sacked for trying to strike electoral alliance with Marine Le Pen's far-right group - after he locked himself inside his party headquarters amid rebellion by colleagues
- The conservative Les Republicains party went into meltdown on Wednesday
- Party chief Eric Ciotti barricaded himself in their headquarters
- He has refused to step down in spite of calls from his former allies
Chaos has engulfed the conservative French political party Les Republicains as the party's president was sacked for trying to forge an alliance with Marine Le Pen and barricading himself in their headquarters.
France's political parties have gone into near-meltdown, after president Emmanuel Macron called a snap election on Sunday, following a dismal outcome during last weekend's European Union elections.
Senior party members have announced they were expelling Eric Ciotti from the party, after he tried to cut a deal with the far-right National Rally party, which took home 31.4% of the vote.
But the leadership of the party is currently disputed, as Ciotti has still refused to step down.
He was seen barricading himself into the party's Paris headquarters on Wednesday, as his internal rivals sought to officially oust him from the party.
The bizarre controversy began when the president of Les Republicains, Eric Ciotti (pictured), shocked his party on Tuesday night when he announced they would do a deal with Le Pen in the upcoming French election
Marine Le Pen - Leader of National Rally. In calling for an alliance with Le Pen, Mr Ciotti broke the long standing cordon sanitaire in French politics - an agreement amongst the major moderate parties that they will never work with the far right
In response to the calls of resignation, yesterday, Mr Ciotti locked himself inside the party's Parisian headquarters (pictured with journalists outside) allegedly to prevent a meeting of top officials where they were expected to dismiss him
The President of France, Emmanuel Macron , surprised the world on Sunday when he called snap parliamentary elections in response to the victory of the far right National Rally in elections for the EU Parliament
The anger from those he once considered his allies came after he announced on French TV on Tuesday night that the party would agree to an alliance with Le Pen.
In doing so, the conservative politician broke the long standing cordon sanitaire in French politics - an agreement amongst the major moderate parties that they will never work with the far right.
In response to the calls of resignation, yesterday, Ciotti locked himself inside the party's Parisian headquarters allegedly to prevent a meeting of top officials where they were expected to dismiss him.
Taking to X, Mr Ciotti claimed he had closed the doors 'after receiving threats.'
Party bigwigs have since announced that Mr Ciotti was no longer President and that he had been expelled from Les Republicains. But a defiant Mr Ciotti has refused to step down
Mr Ciotti angered his party so much that senior members took to X to demand he resigns over the matter. Including Les Republicains Senator and President of the French Senate Gerard Larcher (pictured) who claimed he could never swallow a pact with the National Rally
The implosion of Les Republicains follows opinion polls released today which suggest Le Pen's far right anti-immigration party could top the June 30 and July 7 vote, but without enough seats to win an absolute majority and govern on its own
A standoff ensued outside where members of the media and Les Republican MPs alike gathered.
Speaking to TV crews outside the MP Aurélien Pradié even claimed the party would call emergency services to get into the office.
He said: 'We live in a democracy. People that shut themselves in their office and say "I'm never coming out". That's not possible.'
Eventually, party control over the HQ was restored when Annie Genevard, Les Republicains General Secretary, arrived with a spare key to open the door - bringing the extraordinary crisis to an end.
The implosion of Les Republicains follows opinion polls released today which suggest Le Pen's far right anti-immigration party could top the June 30 and July 7 vote, but without enough seats to win an absolute majority and govern on its own.
Left wing parties have forged an alliance between moderate and far left parties. Meanwhile, President Macron has called for a broad coalition of centrist parties to come together to fight the far right.
French Prime Minister Gabriel Attal met his ministers and allies on Thursday to work on their own platform, and headed to northern France to start campaigning.
He said: 'I see many French people who are worried that the extremes could run the country.
'We must convince them that we must choose our own path, which is a progressive, republican, democratic, social path.'