PARIS — Christophe Castaner, an early ally of Emmanuel Macron, won a vote Thursday to become the new leader of the French president’s party in parliament, as the group struggles to reconcile internal divisions.
As Macron’s official candidate, Castaner was elected to lead La République En Marche (LREM) in the National Assembly with 54.72 percent of the votes among the party’s MPs compared to 45.28 percent for his opponent, the more conservative Aurore Bergé.
Castaner, a former socialist, was one of the first MPs to join Macron in his political movement in 2016, becoming his spokesperson during the 2017 election campaign. Castaner later served as LREM’s chief executive from 2017 until 2018, and interior minister from 2018 until this summer.
As the new LREM leader in parliament, Castaner will lead the party’s efforts to pass a range of lofty reforms, but also faces the challenge of trying to mend divisions that have emerged internally. Almost 40 MPs have left LREM since the beginning of Macron’s mandate.
Bergé had campaigned for the job on a platform of more autonomy for the parliamentary group from the government’s policies.
“Castaner is seen as an envoy from Macron, in a group that wants to show its independence because it feels the government looks down upon them, or the group does not agree with its conservative shift,” said one LREM member, who asked to remain anonymous.
Castaner tweeted after winning the vote that he wanted to “keep the debate of ideas alive and give each person the chance to have their voice heard.”