A week after the announcement of Cédric Villani's decision not to seal an alliance with either Agnès Buzyn (LREM) or Anne Hidalgo (PS), and to appear under the independent label in the 14th arrondissement in the second round , its list leaders, none of whom have managed to exceed 10% and therefore to qualify, now seem distraught.
"We could have had a group on the Paris Council"
“For me, being free in politics means giving yourself the power to act and entering into alliances is not a compromise. Discussions with Anne Hidalgo were very advanced and we could have had a group on the Paris Council, which would have allowed us to influence decisions, "regrets Anne Lebreton, ex-spokesperson for Cédric Villani and candidate in Paris Center ( district which merges the former 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th).
"An extraordinary character"
“Cédric made a decision that concerns him but that left us in the dark. The municipal ballot mode involves making alliances, ”said Pierre Henry, head of the list in the 10th.
The director general of the France Terre d'Asile association nevertheless says he does not regret his commitment alongside the mathematician. “I joined Cédric Villani freely. Everyone took their risks. This is how. I have no anger. I have esteem for him. He is an extraordinary character. But I do not share his final analysis, ”continues the ardent defender of the refugees.
The adventure could, according to them, have lasted even if an alliance had been sealed between the two towers. “Even if it was not up to our expectations, our score of 8% represented a real sociological and political establishment. We had to make it grow, ”insists the former leader in the 10th.
“The campaign was very difficult. We were on a wire all along. But there was clearly no political space for a center-left - center-right positioning, ”notes Mao Peninou, ex-deputy mayor Anne Hidalgo, head of the list of Cédric Villani in the 5th district. "Even when the candidate LREM was in trouble, the carry of the votes did not go to us if we believe the polls," he admits.
"We had to keep a consistency"
Mao Peninou does not regret having left the majority of Anne Hidalgo to join LREM. "I was gone for the European elections, it didn't really succeed, but my meeting with Cédric Villani, the campaign with him, the political line he drew ... all that suits me well. "
The former assistant to the town hall in charge of cleanliness approves the choice of his candidate to remain alone, independent. “It was probably the best solution. He did not leave the political apparatus of En Marche to find the same kind of functioning in the majority of Anne Hidalgo. He wants to assert his political line, he is right. "
“I lived this adventure with great joy, happiness and conviction. This political campaign will remain my best memory ”, enthuses for her part Anne-Christine Lang, rallied from the start, still LREM MP for the 10th district who says she understands“ the tough choice ”of Cédric Villani.
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“There were very many walkers in our ranks who had joined forces with Cédric Villani for another political offer and many would not have understood that we made an alliance with Anne Hidalgo after having advocated the alternation for ten- eight months. It was necessary to keep a coherence ”, points out the deputy who challenges the agreement made between LREM and LR in the 5th with Florence Berthout.
One supports Hidalgo, the other Buzyn
Cédric Villani's decision therefore marks the end of the political adventure in the capital for all of its top names. Coming from civil society, Anne Lebreton, assistant to the town hall of the 4th district since 2014, plans to return to the associative world from which she came. Next September, Pierre Henry will step down as head of France Terre d'Asile. Mao Peninou has planned to take a few days of vacation after the second round.
As for the deputy Anne-Christine Lang, she will say goodbye to the Paris Council where she has elected since 2014 and "thus give way to the new generations".
But before leaving for other horizons, Pierre Henry decided "on a personal basis, as a free man, free of his commitments", to support the outgoing PS mayor Anne Hidalgo while Anne-Christine Lang supports the LREM candidate Agnès Buzyn. Mao Peninou, he calls to beat Florence Berthout in the 5th.