The list of competitors in the presidential race has just grown.
It is the turn of Jean-Christophe Lagarde, president of the UDI centrists, to announce his candidacy, as revealed by
L'Opinion
.
“
I am the only one to have the ideas, the party, the money, the local elected officials, the signatures and I do not see the point of following someone.
I do not see any good reason not to be a candidate,
”he confides daily.
The decision seemed far from being taken, however.
Last September, Jean-Christophe Lagarde declared to
Le Figaro
that it was “
very unreasonable to talk about the presidential election ... two years from the deadline.
""
Let's stop with this French disease.
It is absurd and crippling because six months are enough to choose a president.
The important thing is above all to work on a project,
”he said at the time.
To read also: Presidential: Jean-Luc Mélenchon does not hide his concern
The project would therefore have materialized earlier than expected.
Perhaps because the outcome of the 2022 election, in the event of a new Macron-Le Pen duel, seems sealed in advance.
"
Emmanuel Macron is the only one who can save Marine Le Pen,
" he says.
Before specifying: “
She loses against anyone else.
"
In the European elections of May 2019, the centrist had already refused to ally with the Marchers to lead his own list - collecting only 2.5% of the vote.
From now on, the head of the UDI is gradually drawing the lines of his future program.
To this end, he plans to publish a book,
Phosphorus
, which will share his proposals - which will be based on three pillars: Europe, territories and ecology.
His vision will also involve a major reform of the institutions with the return to the seven-year term, which is not renewable, and the organization of referendums once a year.
Read also: Presidential: what were the polls saying in January 2016?
The arrival in the race of the elected center-right is above all a way for the deputy for Seine-Saint-Denis not to see his troops scatter.
Several UDI-LR alliances are already planned for the regional ones, like Hauts-de-France where the outgoing president, Xavier Bertrand, is supported by the centrists.
For the time being, Jean-Christophe Lagarde has been offered by Gérard Larcher, President LR of the Senate, to take part in a potential tie-breaking method to designate the future candidate for the right.
The centrist, however, warned that there would be no interest if the ex-LR Xavier Bertrand decided not to participate.