They're embarking on an electoral battle lasting until June 9, so don't tell them they're friends. That is precisely this kind of relationship that their common opponent in the European elections, Jordan Bardella, the lead candidate for the far-right Rassemblement National party, is looking out for. Because, in Bardella's view, friendliness is a sign of cronyism, and that puts them all in the same boat. It's what the far-right candidate wants to condemn.

Apart from Bardella, five incumbent MEPs are running again as the lead candidate for their parties: François-Xavier Bellamy (Les Républicains, conservative), Valérie Hayer (Renaissance, center), Raphaël Glucksmann (Socialists and Place Publique, left-wing), Marie Toussaint (Greens) and Manon Aubry (La France Insoumise, radical left). They may not exactly be friends, but they do like each other. They are all of the same generation, and have spent five years in the corridors of the Parliament based in Brussels and Strasbourg, often sitting late into the night on obscure committees, battling over appallingly technical pieces of legislation.

Their track record is inversely proportional to that of France's Assemblée Nationale, where a climate of provocation and sometimes verbal violence has prevailed for almost two years. "It's true that we like each other," said Hayer, the lead candidate for Emmanuel Macron's Renaissance party. "They're all very nice people." Several months ago at a dinner in Brussels, when Renaissance still had no lead candidate, Bellamy urged Hayer to run: "You're the one who has to do it, go for it!"

She wondered whether it was a trap, a trick, or a self-serving ruse. "I wondered about it, only to realize that it was in fact totally unselfish," she said. This was confirmed by Bellamy: "In reality, it was in my interest for Pascal Canfin to be the candidate for the [ruling coalition] because that would have opened up a space for me on the right. I encouraged her because I felt she was perfectly qualified to head the list." Once she was nominated, Bellamy was obviously quick to congratulate her.

The two MEPs got to know each other at the start of their term in committee on the Brexit Adjustment Reserve. It was a painfully technical subject on the financial aspects to Britain's exit from the European Union. Each was their party's head of delegation. Since then, they've remained on excellent terms. Bellamy, an ex-philosophy teacher with a first-communion look and known for being against same-sex marriage, cultivates a reputation as a benevolent, respectful and sympathetic man. "It's not a front: He's like that with everyone, MPs and cleaning ladies alike," said Glucksmann.

You have 62.35% of this article left to read. The rest is for subscribers only.