Basque Country: Apart from LFI and RN, Renaissance opens discussions for the municipal elections

From Socialist Kotte Ecenaro to LR Jean-François Irigoyen, local Macronists hope to find common ground to push their ideas forward in the 2026 municipal elections.

What remains of the great "disruption" of 2017, when Emmanuel Macron upended the old French two-party system and seized power in a matter of months? The En Marche movement has finally become the Renaissance party. Its champion is a president devitalized by the dissolution and the political chaos resulting from the early legislative elections. But activists hope to make a difference in the municipal elections. Renaissance's president in the Basque Country, Maria Echevarria, agrees that "it's been complicated since the dissolution." "But national politics are so tense, with extreme positions, that people are coming back to us," she believes. Is the "center-right" a safe haven for disoriented moderates?

Renaissance activists dream of it. They are preparing, "outside of any national alliance scheme." The party's investiture committee only deals with municipalities with at least 60,000 inhabitants. "Here, we decide locally." The only "red lines" are La France Insoumise (LFI) and the National Rally (RN).

The MoDem and Horizon are natural allies. Beyond these parties, the Macronists in the Basque Country are proposing talks with the socialist Kotte Ecenaro in Hendaye as well as with the Les Républicains mayor of Saint-Jean-de-Luz, Jean-François Irigoyen.

"We don't know if it will be possible, but it's what our members want." Maria Echevarria outlines a method here, failing to yet enter into the notions of programs and candidates. "We are in a phase of consulting our local committees."

With less than a year to go before the municipal elections, declarations of ambition are still mostly coming from outsiders. "We should have two leading candidates," the president nevertheless projects. She is referring, without naming him, to the mayor of Bayonne and president of the Agglomeration, Jean-René Etchegaray. The elected official, a Renaissance member, has not yet publicly stated his intention. But his own people have no doubts... Renaissance is already supporting the Horizon opposition elected official in Biarritz, Jean-Baptiste Dussaussois-Larralde.

Other candidacies and endorsements are being discussed among activists. Based on liberal economic and societal options. A certain faith in Europe. An environmental discourse. And fears expressed by Maria Echevarria regarding neuroses on the migration issue that extend far beyond the boundaries of the far right.