Macron party picks first-ever leader amid internal democracy grumbles

French President Emmanuel Macron's party picked its first elected leader on Saturday. Christophe Castaner, one of the first of several Socialists to leave their party to join Macron's election campaign, has been government spokesman since the Republic on the Move (LREM) won June's general election.

Christophe Castaner (2nd R) with Prime Minister Edouard Philippe (2nd L)at the LREM national council JEAN-PHILIPPE KSIAZEK / AFP

Castaner, 51, was the only candidate - before the vote he joked that he was remaining "prudent" as to its outcome - and LREM's national council elected him general delegate with no votes against and three abstentions.

As well as serving as government spokesman, he is responsible for the government's relations with parliament, a junior minister's post.

When it became clear that Castaner would be picked for the post, oppositon parties claimed there would be a conflict of interest between his leadership of the party and his other functions.

Some LREM members echoed that view.

Castaner is expected to resign as government spokesman and could also quit his ministerial seat, returning to parliament to sit as an MP for the constituency in Provence that elected him in June.

That would mean a cabinet reshuffle, although probably not a major one.

Executive committee elected

Meeting near the central city of Lyon, the national council also adopted the party's "charter of values" and elected a 20-strong political bureau, the collective party leadership.

With four slates to choose from, the majority backed Castaner's selection, which includes the party's leaders in the National Assembly, Richard Ferrand, and in the Senate, François Patriat, despite some complaints that it did not include enough rank-and-file members.

The biggest division of the day was over whether to vote by show of hands or secret ballot, with the show of hands winning by 277 to 239.

Splits and criticisms

The six-month-old party has come under fire since the election for the failure of its 308 MPs to play much of a role in parliament or in national politics.

Macron, and to a lesser extent Castaner and Prime Minister Edouard Philippe, have been practically the only high-profile defenders of the government's policies.

Philippe is not an LREM member, although he gave a speech at the national council meeting.

A group of 100 members this week quit the party, publishing a resignation letter complaining of a lack of internal democracy and "contempt and arrogance" towards members.

LREM still claims 380,000 members, who do not have to pay dues, but it is unclear how of them are politically active.

There has also been a slump in support for Macron and the government, with polls showing an increasing perception that their policies favour the rich at the expense of the rest of the population.

Its election gains have won it a substantial state subsidy of 20 million euros a year, however, and it has big plans, including a "Grand European March" ahead of 2019's European elections.