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France's Macron announces gender equal list of political outsiders | France's Macron announces gender equal list of political outsiders |
(35 minutes later) | |
The party of French President-elect Emmanuel Macron has selected a diverse list of 428 candidates for parliamentary elections next month. | The party of French President-elect Emmanuel Macron has selected a diverse list of 428 candidates for parliamentary elections next month. |
Only 24 of those chosen are outgoing MPs from the current parliament. | Only 24 of those chosen are outgoing MPs from the current parliament. |
Some 52% come from civil society and exactly half are women, the secretary-general of La République En Marche (Republic on the Move) said. | Some 52% come from civil society and exactly half are women, the secretary-general of La République En Marche (Republic on the Move) said. |
Richard Ferrand said the choices marked "the definitive return of citizens to the heart of our political life". | Richard Ferrand said the choices marked "the definitive return of citizens to the heart of our political life". |
Mr Macron still needs to select more than 100 candidates for the 577-seat parliament and the party says its door is open to politicians from other parties to join. | |
Youngest is 24 | Youngest is 24 |
The movement received more than 19,000 applications, Mr Ferrand said at a news conference, with 1,700 telephone interviews conducted with candidates. | The movement received more than 19,000 applications, Mr Ferrand said at a news conference, with 1,700 telephone interviews conducted with candidates. |
The average age of the list is 46 "compared to 60 years for the average of outgoing MPs", he said. | The average age of the list is 46 "compared to 60 years for the average of outgoing MPs", he said. |
The youngest candidate is 24 years old, while the oldest is 72. Around 10 candidates are unemployed, double that are retired and a handful are students. | The youngest candidate is 24 years old, while the oldest is 72. Around 10 candidates are unemployed, double that are retired and a handful are students. |
All of the outgoing MPs chosen to run come from the Socialist Party of departing President François Hollande. | All of the outgoing MPs chosen to run come from the Socialist Party of departing President François Hollande. |
Mr Ferrand confirmed that Mr Macron's ex-cabinet colleague Manuel Valls - the former prime minister who has now burned his boats with his Socialists - had not been selected. | Mr Ferrand confirmed that Mr Macron's ex-cabinet colleague Manuel Valls - the former prime minister who has now burned his boats with his Socialists - had not been selected. |
He said that he did "not meet the criteria" because he had already served three parliamentary terms. | He said that he did "not meet the criteria" because he had already served three parliamentary terms. |
But the party will not be running a candidate against him in his constituency in Essonne, south of Paris. | But the party will not be running a candidate against him in his constituency in Essonne, south of Paris. |
France had been waiting to see if the party list would live up to Mr Macron's pledge to clean up France's public life. | France had been waiting to see if the party list would live up to Mr Macron's pledge to clean up France's public life. |
Who are they? | |
Many of the candidates are unknown to the public and there are few well-known personalities on the list. | |
Among the diverse candidates are Cédric Villani, a famous mathematician with a penchant for flamboyant bow-ties and spider brooches. He won the Fields Medal - seen as one of the highest honours in mathematics - in 2010. | |
François Hollande's communications advisor Gaspard Gantzer, former judge Eric Halphen and former bullfighter Marie Sara are also on the list. | |
Although no MPs of the Republican party are candidates, at least two former allies of Alain Juppé - who lost the centre-right party's presidential primary - have been selected. | |
Some of the names previously announced include: | |
French media are already reporting errors on the list - including one candidate with a criminal record (the party said no-one with a criminal record would be eligible). Several people on the list have also denied they are candidates. | |
Why are the candidates being unveiled now? | Why are the candidates being unveiled now? |
Mr Macron was only elected on Sunday and the two-round parliamentary vote takes place on 11 and 18 June. But with only one month to go, every political party is now focusing on the race for the National Assembly. | Mr Macron was only elected on Sunday and the two-round parliamentary vote takes place on 11 and 18 June. But with only one month to go, every political party is now focusing on the race for the National Assembly. |
His recently rebranded party is only 13 months old and Mr Macron needs to show he will have not just a mandate but the power in parliament to push through his programme. | His recently rebranded party is only 13 months old and Mr Macron needs to show he will have not just a mandate but the power in parliament to push through his programme. |
How are the candidates chosen? | How are the candidates chosen? |
Nearly 20,000 people applied and a few thousand only added their names in the last few days following the election. | |
We know the Macron team set out five conditions: | |
What's wrong with Manuel Valls? | What's wrong with Manuel Valls? |
When the Socialist ex-prime minister announced this week that his own party was dead and he wanted to be a candidate for the new president's party, the initial response was lukewarm - and then he was turned down for not yet "meeting the criteria". | When the Socialist ex-prime minister announced this week that his own party was dead and he wanted to be a candidate for the new president's party, the initial response was lukewarm - and then he was turned down for not yet "meeting the criteria". |
Opponents have seized on the decision as treachery, and by Wednesday Twitter was alive with the hashtag #VallsEnMarcheVersPoleEmploi (Valls on the move to the job centre). | Opponents have seized on the decision as treachery, and by Wednesday Twitter was alive with the hashtag #VallsEnMarcheVersPoleEmploi (Valls on the move to the job centre). |
Republican party leader François Baroin said the way Mr Valls had been treated "revealed a great deal about the sectarian spirit of a movement that wanted to be modern but in three days in its methods already belonged to the past". | Republican party leader François Baroin said the way Mr Valls had been treated "revealed a great deal about the sectarian spirit of a movement that wanted to be modern but in three days in its methods already belonged to the past". |