The former socialist minister Najat Vallaud-Belkacem formalized this Saturday his candidacy for the presidency of Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, a region led by Laurent Wauquiez (LR).
To read also: Guillaume Tabard: "The scheduled return of Laurent Wauquiez"
The former Minister of National Education of François Hollande, whose decision was not in doubt, announces his candidacy for the regional June in an interview with the three major dailies in the region,
Le Progrès
,
Le Dauphiné Libéré
and
La Montagne
.
Najat Vallaud-Belkacem says in this interview that he wants to embody “an alternative” to the politics and governance of Laurent Wauquiez, who seized the region in 2016, that she charges with “patronage” and “short-termism” ".
In addition to the PS, its list brings together the PRG, Cap ecology and the Republican and Social Left.
According to this interview, the discussions with the other left forces, in particular the environmentalists, did not succeed, while Najat Vallaud-Belkacem aspired to make regional elections "the laboratory of the union of the left", in the grip of to a "suicidal" division.
The former elected of Villeurbanne - second city of the Lyon metropolis - still leaves the door open to a rally "before the first round".
Otherwise, "there will always be the evening of the first round," she adds.
"The ball is more than ever in the camp of environmentalists," the leader of the socialist group in the region, Jean-François Debat, told AFP, deeming the last meeting with the Greens on Friday "extremely disappointing".
"While we wanted a balanced rally, they demand a dry rally," he blasted, adding that the discussions were "never blocked".
Read also: Najat Vallaud-Belkacem back to help the PS
Tuesday, in an interview with AFP and
Progress
, President EELV of the metropolis of Lyon Bruno Bernard had estimated that Najat Vallaud-Belkacem "would be a real added value for a common campaign" and had hoped that the former Minister or "head of the list in the metropolis of Lyon".
However, he said that at the regional level, the rally could only be done behind Fabienne Grebert, the candidate invested by the Greens.
The regional elections are disputed via departmental lists, the metropolis of Lyon having the status of a department.