Gérard Collomb launched his counter-offensive. Vilified by the staff of En Marche after the announcement Thursday of his renunciation to seek the presidency of the metropolis of Lyon in favor of the candidate Les Républicains (LR), François-Noël Buffet, the former minister of Emmanuel Macron's interior justified his choice. “ It turns out that in the metropolis of Lyon the hardest wing of the RPR (LR) is perhaps the one that rightly combats François-Noel Buffet by finding it too moderate. Things are more complex ... ", he explained on LCI on Friday. The former socialist notably highlighted the ideological proximity shared with the candidate of the right, arguing that he wanted to " draw a line that continues the policy " that he led in Lyon " for 20 years. "
If the alliance of the mayor of Lyon with the right had been anticipated for several months, nobody expected this agreement leading the baron invested by LREM to renounce to seek the metropolis of Lyon. In exchange, the candidate on the right on the city, Étienne Blanc, fades behind Yann Cucherat, colt of Gérard Collomb. The pact was sealed Wednesday in the office of Laurent Wauquiez, LR president of the Auvergne Rhône-Alpes region.
“ It's a deep tear. I was mayor then president of Greater Lyon for almost twenty years, ”conceded the former minister on this unexpected renunciation. But constrained by a disappointing score in the first round of the metropolitan elections - it came last among the favorites in the race for the metropolis - the choice of an alliance seemed inevitable. " For the future of Lyon, it takes a stable majority to rebuild a city that will suffer a lot " with the economic crisis looming, Lyon being the first industrial city in France, justified the mayor. As such, he prefers to turn to the right rather than the Greens, who came first in the first round of municipal in Lyon as metropolitan, with whom " there would be a deep break ," he said.
Pass of arms with LREM
The Republic on the March (LREM) was quick to voice its dissatisfaction. His number one, Stanislas Guérini, estimated Thursday that with this merger, Gérard Collomb, one of the very first supporters of Emmanuel Macron, had " crossed the red line ". Response from Collomb: " Emmanuel Macron was also a transgressive in his own way, and I remember that when he resigned from the government (...) there was a red line that was crossed. Compared to François Hollande, he was doing an act which was promising for the future but which also ended a story ”.
The resounding resignation in October 2018 of Gérard Collomb, then Minister of the Interior, had already plunged the macronie into embarrassment. " What I liked about Emmanuel Macron is that he thought about the future and finally we abandoned this global vision to focus on specific measures which the French sometimes did not see the meaning of, " commented Friday Gérard Collomb, citing for example the pension reform. The break between the former godfather of the head of state and his movement seems to be over ...
Especially since his former colleagues were not asked to curb the choice of the mayor of Lyon this Friday morning. " Gérard Collomb lost the municipal elections in the first round " and today, " this choice loses him in the political field. In this attitude, he loses himself ”, estimated Christophe Castaner on RTL. “ I know what he has brought to La République en Marche. This is bad news for him and for us ”, regretted the Minister of the Interior. " We could look at the course of each other, there are others which we could say that they got lost, " retorted Gérard Collomb, adding never to have deviated from his " social reformist " line.
“ He was one of the architects of the conquest. Seeing him today, on the altar of a form of selfishness, making the choice of a line with which I do not share any value, that of Laurent Wauquiez, that disappoints me very deeply, "added his side government spokesperson Sibeth Ndiaye on BFMTV and RMC.
Read also: Municipal: in Lyon, Collomb turns to the right
" Obviously I do not understand ," also denounced the Minister of Ecological Transition Élisabeth Borne on Public Senate. “ We often talk about overcoming the divisions but that does not mean accepting all the arrangements, in this case an alliance with the candidates of Laurent Wauquiez. It is not at all the DNA of En Marche, we are not at all on the same values ”, she recalled.
Henceforth, the national investiture commission of the presidential party must meet as quickly as possible so that the disinvestment of Yann Cucherat can be examined. The page of the Collomb era in Lyon seems to be turning ... " It is an important moment in my life and at the same time a release, I will have time to enjoy my family and certain pleasures " , concluded the former Minister of the Interior, referring to the " sense of duty accomplished ".