Élisabeth Borne had prepared the ground for a confrontation with Gabriel Attal for the presidency of the Renaissance. But the former Prime Minister gave in to the announced victory of her successor in Matignon: in the end she will not be a candidate and leaves the field open to the head of the Ensemble pour la République, who already had broad support even before officially entering the race.
He is the head of the party and she is the president of the National Council (the movement’s parliament), both were recorded by mutual agreement in a press release this Tuesday, October 29.
A decision made in the name of “unity” and “complementarity”, explains Élisabeth Borne this Wednesday on RTL, specifying that she is working with Gabriel Attal on “the fusion of the lists” formed by both sides, before the election of the members. of the National Council, scheduled for November 23 and 24.
Attal “will have to make his decisions when the time comes”
This will be followed by the appointment of the Secretary General, a position currently held by Stéphane Séjourné, recently appointed European Commissioner, on 7 December.
If Gabriel Attal waited this Tuesday to declare himself a candidate – and therefore the withdrawal of Élisabeth Borne -, his rival took the lead, presenting himself in mid-August in an interview with Le Parisien. Without naming his opponent, he had begun to prepare a confrontation, like this statement in Le Point, on the occasion of the publication of his book, Twenty months in Matignon.
Élisabeth Borne spoke to the weekly about this France “made of men and women; young, dynamic and brilliant people, more mature people, with experience. People who live in Île-de-France, people who live in rural areas.”
Beyond the respective political careers, the former head of government immediately pointed to the possible accumulation of functions of Gabriel Attal – that of patron of the deputies and president of the party -, judging that it was not a “usefulness.” Words that the Calvados deputy seems to maintain this Wednesday, although she blames Gabriel Attal for this decision.
“He will have to make his decisions when the time comes,” he stated, insisting, however, on “two very demanding functions.” “To the group in the current context and to the party because there are many things to rebuild, to revive.”
If Gabriel Attal were to leave his current position to concentrate on the party presidency, a seat in the National Assembly would become vacant. However, Élisabeth Borne assures him that “she will not assume the leadership of the (parliamentary) group at all.”
Source: BFM TV
