In an interview aired on December 7, 2025, Xavier Bertrand, LR president of the Hauts-de-France region, distanced himself from Nicolas Sarkozy's recent statements on potential alignment with the Rassemblement national (RN). He reiterated his fight against extremes—neither LFI nor RN—and rejected the idea of a 'union of the rights' that he sees as an alliance with the far right.
Xavier Bertrand, one of the few Républicains (LR) leaders to publicly reject an alliance with the Rassemblement national (RN), was the guest on the program 'Questions politiques' on France Inter, France Télévisions, and Le Monde, on December 7, 2025. Questioned about excerpts from Nicolas Sarkozy's forthcoming book, published in La Tribune, where the former president assures Marine Le Pen he would not join a 'republican front' against the RN and advocates for the 'broadest possible gathering' on the right, Bertrand held his firm line.
'My fight remains against the extremes: neither LFI nor Rassemblement national,' he stated. 'The extremes today seek to divide a French society that is already far too fractured,' he believes, adding that he will continue to fight against Jean-Luc Mélenchon and Jordan Bardella. Bertrand prefers Sarkozy's 2007 positions, when the UMP refused any collusion with extremes. 'I remain exactly on the same line,' he insisted, emphasizing that he has 'more ambition for [his] political family' than seeing it 'chase after the Rassemblement national'.
With municipal elections in March 2026 and the 2027 presidential race approaching, divisions within LR are intensifying. Laurent Wauquiez, LR parliamentary leader, proposes an expanded primary 'from Gérald Darmanin to Sarah Knafo,' Reconquête! MEP, opening the door to Eric Zemmour's ideas. On December 2, Bruno Retailleau and Eric Ciotti, allied with the far right, launched identical petitions against an alleged 'media labeling project' by Emmanuel Macron, in synergy with the Bolloré group. An Odoxa poll for Le Figaro shows LR voters split between allying with the RN and the presidential camp.
Bertrand refuses: 'The "union of the rights," no, it's the union of the right with the far right. Let him go to the Rassemblement national!'
