Second round campaign atmosphere for the party presidency in Les Républicains (LR). Arrived second during the first deadline of this weekend, behind Éric Ciotti (42.73%), Bruno Retailleau (34.45%) appears as the candidate for the “pause”. To distinguish himself from the recent past of his party, he has not hesitated for several weeks to attack Nicolas Sarkozy.
The head of the LR senators puts on a cape this Tuesday. “Clearly there is a right-wing destabilization enterprise by Nicolas Sarkozy and Emmanuel Macron,” he declared in The Parisian. In question: the statements of the former head of state on Sunday, the same day of the first round of the LR congress, reported by le figaro.
“Little Political Calculations”
Thus, the founder of the Les Républicains party once again called on the parliamentarians of his political family to come closer to the presidential field, whose majority in the National Assembly is relative. “This is not about saying ‘I agree 100% with Emmanuel Macron,'” Nicolas Sarkozy said.
“This is about France! Are we helping France or do we have a political crisis on top of all the crises it is experiencing? That is the question that arises.”
If the former president also urged Emmanuel Macron to “reach out” to LR, the latter had already declared himself in favor of an “alliance” on France 2, a few weeks ago. “These are small political calculations that I denounce, that I have always denounced,” insists Bruno Retailleau at LCI. And to reaffirm his position:
“It is not about mixing with the macronie […] that will have harmed our country.”
The truth is that, until now, the majority has been able to count on the support of LR to approve several of its texts, such as those related to purchasing power or unemployment insurance.
“Yes or no, do you want an alliance with Emmanuel Macron?”
“As soon as there is a bill that goes in the right direction, we modify it and vote on it,” defended Bruno Retailleau, still at LCI. in the columns of Parisian, the Vendée senator believes that LR’s “convictions” are “not the same as those of Emmanuel Macron”. He accuses the head of state of having “sunk nuclear energy, deepened the debt and increased immigration and insecurity.”
In the event of an election in the second round of the congress, his “first act” will be to present “an internal referendum”, with this question: “Yes or no, do you want an alliance with Emmanuel Macron?”
“Once the line is cut by the activists, I hope we can write a commitment letter not to ally with Emmanuel Macron that will be signed by everyone,” he specifies.
It will be up to him, or Eric Ciotti who is the favourite, to convince of the merits of this strategy beyond the members. In a poll carried out at the end of November by Odoxa, 73% of LR supporters surveyed believe that the party should conclude “at least one alliance”. And 45% of LR supporters were in favor of a union with a presidential majority. An illustration of the work that will be opened for the future president of the party, who will inherit a formation caught between the extreme right and the macronie.
Source: BFM TV
