"So I salute you from afar, huh? "Smiles Anne Hidalgo. As a hello, the outgoing mayor nods up and down! Fear of the coronavirus has cooled the first of three TV debates between the seven main contenders for the Paris City Hall.
7 p.m., candidates arrive one by one at LCI premises. Serge Federbusch (RN) is the first to enter the hall of the TF 1 group, a few minutes before Anne Hidalgo. Nobody dares to shake hands. Except Agnes Buzyn! Yet herself a doctor and former Minister of Health, she ignores anti-virus instructions and warmly shakes hands with the boss of the news channel who came to welcome him.
"I'm ready," smiles the rebellious Danielle Simonnet, who came by metro as did the environmentalist David Belliard. "Thank you for welcoming me, make way for democracy and the debate of ideas", says lyricist Cédric Villani, by far the most talkative. The most smiling? Rachida Dati. As a professional in politics, the latest arrival shakes all hands, including those of cameramen and security agents.
Villani exchanges with Hidalgo
8 p.m., the candidates are locked up with their teams in their dressing rooms, scattered over three floors of the Tower of the One. They are in fact meeting rooms in the name of the productions of the chain: "Téléfoot", "Bienvenue chez les Ch'tis", "Grands Reportages", etc. On the same floor, Cédric Villani meets Anne Hidalgo. They exchange a few words. Not on Paris, nor on their proposals, but on the famous spider brooch of the dissident LREM. "It looks like a radar-shaped survey result," jokes the mathematician.
Meanwhile, in the studio on the ground floor, we vacuum the blue carpet, when the outgoing mayor comes to discover the place, accompanied by Audrey Pulvar. As a TV professional, the former presenter of France 3 newspapers inquires about the axes of the cameras and asks whether, like the other 27 people seated in the audience - only relatives of the candidates - we will see her on the air.
"The stakes are enormous for everyone"
The tension rises around 8:30 p.m., when everyone enters the plateau, following a freezing corridor. No contact between the seven suitors, who exchange neither a word nor a look, while sitting on the armchairs drawn by lot. “They are all very concentrated. The stake is enormous for everyone ”, breathes one of their communicator, surprised by the coldness of the atmosphere.
The group photo is not more welcoming. Under the crackling of flashes, smiles freeze. David Pujadas is the last to enter the set. He has until 11:30 p.m. to warm up the atmosphere of his "great confrontation". Otherwise it will be necessary to wait for the next meeting between the candidates, this Tuesday on France 3 Île-de-France, Franceinfo or France Bleu, or Wednesday March 18, on BFMTV for those who will be qualified for the second round.