On Monday, June 10, just after the European elections, since-ousted Les Républicains (LR) leader Eric Ciotti made contact with Jordan Bardella and Marine Le Pen, the leaders of the far-right Rassemblement National (RN). But he also went to 51, Boulevard de Montmorency in Paris's 16th arrondissement to meet billionaire businessman Vincent Bolloré. At this point, Ciotti had not yet informed his own party about his decision to form an alliance with the RN. But he wanted to discuss his announcement with the media tycoon who owns the news channel CNews, the radio Europe 1, and the weeklies Paris Match and Le Journal du dimanche, among others.
For some time now, Bolloré has been toying with the idea of a "union of the right," a potential alliance between the far right and the mainstream conservatives. On several occasions, had discussed this idea with journalists and editors from his media conglomerate, as well as visiting politicians at his family holding company, La Compagnie de l'Odet, located in a three-storey building that has a Breton flag flying on its porch. And one such politician has been Ciotti.
The two men have known each other for several years. "We're both concerned about preserving the French identity," Ciotti told Le Monde in November 2021, referring to his links with the billionaire. For the past few summers, he has met the Breton boss in the south of France when the latter visits his house in Saint-Tropez for vacation. They also make it a habit to have lunch together regularly when they are in Paris.
Shortly after a one-on-one meeting with Bolloré in the winter of 2021, Ciotti publicly announced that he would vote for far-right candidate Eric Zemmour in the event of a second-round face-off with Emmanuel Macron in the presidential election. Then, on CNews, he called on "Eric Zemmour's supporters and potential voters" to join LR in order to vote for him in LR's presidential primary, in which he was running. Ciotti was defeated in the second round by Valérie Pécresse and, six months later, in April 2022, Zemmour barely exceeded 7% in the first round of the presidential election.
This time around, however, the situation seems much more favorable to them. The RN came out on top in the European elections, LR is in danger of losing several of their strongholds, and the possible union of the left could frighten right-wing voters. A split in LR is now a real possibility, Ciotti and Bolloré thought, and many of its key figures could join the far-right party. Bolloré has been hoping for this for a long time.
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