Former French president Nicolas Sarkozy said he would put aside party politics and vote for Emmanuel Macron in the second round runoff of the presidential election, as his Les Republicains party faces dire financial problems after failing to win enough votes to get campaign spending reimbursed by the state.
"I will vote for Emmanuel Macron because I believe he has the necessary experience faced with a grave international crisis... because his economic programme puts the value of work in the centre of all priorities, because his European engagement is clear and unambiguous," said Sarkozy, who remains an influential figure on the conservative right.
Conservatives' “loyalty to the values of the republican right and our culture of government” should lead to a vote for Macron, Sarkozy wrote on his Facebook page on Tuesday, calling on voters to leave behind "partisan reflexes" and Macron's call for unity.
Sarkozy’s conservative Les Republicains party was soundly defeated in the first round of the election on Sunday, with candidate Valérie Pecresse winning only 4.8 percent of the vote.
The party has faced a challenge with the advent of Macron’s centrist movement, and has also seen defections to the far right.
During the campaign Sarkozy had refused to publicly support Pecresse, a former minister in his government.
On Sunday, Pecresse and other party members, including former Justice Minister Rachida Dati, called for supporters to vote for Macron to block far right Marine Le Pen from winning in the second round.
Others, including the runner-up in the party's primary, Eric Ciotti, said he would not vote for Macron.
The party faces an existential threat, because Pecresse failed to win five percent of the vote, the threshold above which the state will reimburse campaign spending.
On Monday, Pecresse said she personally had five million euros in campaign debt, and issued an urgent plea for donations to ensure the party’s survival.
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(with wires)
