Marion Maréchal Joins ECR Group, Strengthening Far-Right Influence in European Parliament

Marion Maréchal, a former member of the Reconquest party, has officially joined the European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR) group in the European Parliament. This move was announced on Wednesday, June 9, following her election to the Parliament. The ECR group, which includes the Fratelli d'Italia party led by Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, has welcomed several new deputies, including Maréchal, which they claim now makes them the third-largest force in the European Parliament with 83 deputies.

The ECR's announcement also included the addition of Guillaume Peltier and Laurence Trochu, two other European deputies elected under the Reconquest label, a party founded by polemicist Éric Zemmour. Nicolas Bay, another former Reconquest MEP, already sat with the ECR group in the previous legislature. All these members were excluded from the Reconquest party following the European elections and the announcement of early legislative elections in France.

Despite these recent additions, the number of deputies in both the ECR and the centrist Renew Europe group is not yet definitive. The exact balance of power will only be known after the constituent sessions of each political group, expected on June 26. Additionally, the exact number of far-right MEPs will become clearer after the constitutive meeting of the Identity and Democracy (ID) group, where deputies from the French National Rally (RN) will gather. The European Parliament's first plenary session is scheduled from July 16 to 19 in Strasbourg.

Sara Knafo, a close advisor and companion of Éric Zemmour, was also elected to the European Parliament on June 9. However, her name was not included in the list of new ECR members announced on Wednesday. Reconquest had initially decided to join the ECR in February, but at that time, they only had one elected official, Nicolas Bay.