Media reports on Thursday evening have French President Emmanuel Macron pushing for Thierry Breton to serve a second term as France’s European commissioner.
According to political analysts, the announcement aims to preclude the nationalist National Rally from nominating the next French commissioner if it wins a majority in the upcoming election.
Macron’s announcement was first reported by Le Monde, which had Macron making the comment about the current internal market commissioner at a meeting of the liberal Renew Europe grouping in Brussels on Thursday – before an EU Summit.
In an immediate reaction, National Rally president Jordan Bardella said a future government under his party – not Macron – should pick the candidate.
“It will be among the first decisions we make,” Bardella said.
