The UK's new centre-left party Renew has more than its pro-EU stance in common with its French cousin La Republique En Marche!
ADVERTISEMENTA new political party with a "people-centred" approach reminiscent of the mentality that drove Emmanuel Macron's La République En Marche! to election victory will next week launch in the UK.
This is not the only similarity between Renew, that lies in the centre ground of British politics, and Macron's centrist-liberal movement.
Everyday citizens as MPs
Founded by Chris Coghlan and James Torrance, who both stood as independent candidates in the last general election, Renew invites people from all over the country to stand for parliament.
"We want all ethnic, religious and social backgrounds to be represented among our candidates," its website reads.
Macron, too, invited people from all walks of life, even if they had not been involved in politics before, to run in the election.
As well as politicians from other major French parties, En Marche! MPs include a former economist, teacher and lawyer.
Failure of the two traditional parties
Macron's LaREM was born out of the public's loss of confidence in France's traditional parties. Similarly, Renew wants to take Britain away from the long-established Labour and Conservative parties.
"Political parties have failed us," reads its website, "we need a new generation of people from outside politics to stand for election, lead our country and renew the British dream."
Pro-Europe
Renew wants to "reverse Brexit" and backs a second referendum—Macron is vocally pro-EU, with LaREM writing on its website: "To want to weaken Europe is to leave France alone in the face of the threats of today's world."
Macron's tweet:
"Europe is us. We wanted it. And we need Europe because Europe makes us bigger. Because Europe makes us stronger."
The idea for the Renew party came after the Brexit vote on June 23, 2016, and it's members want to hold a second referendum on the final deal negotiated with the EU, which they believe is "overwhelmingly in the interests of both Leave and Remain supporters".
"We have to get to the heart of the United Kingdom, have difficult conversations with people who voted Brexit. We have to tell them: Let's not leave the EU. And also: Let's solve our internal problems," Renew founders said.
Target voters
Renew is a progressive movement aimed at voters in the UK's neglected centre ground—LaREM, too, plucked both centre-left and centre-right voters from France's main parties.
Crowdfunded
While Macron's party has a "donate" button on its website to partially fund its campaign, Renew also has a crowdfunding page for donations.
Differences
Some commentators have said Renew currently lacks the charismatic figurehead that En Marche! enjoyed in Macron.
Support from France
Renew supporters seem to hope its similarities with LaREM will help it to replicate the French party's landslide 66.1 per cent victory in the second-round vote.
"We don't have much time, the only way of winning is by the same miracle as Macron," said member Haseeb Ur Rehman, a lawyer.
ADVERTISEMENTEn Marche! MP for Essonne Amélie de Montchalin even came out in support of the movement.
"If this happened to France I think it can happen to Britain too," she said in a video on Renew's YouTube channel.