The announced and expected duel did indeed take place.
And he settled in from the first few minutes.
On Wednesday evening, the exchanges between Renaud Muselier, president of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region and Thierry Mariani, head of the RN list for the regional elections on June 20 and 27 were lively, during the debate organized by LCI, in partnership with
Le Figaro
, RTL and
La Provence
.
From the start, the LR candidate, announced loser in all cases in the second round in an Ifop-Fiducial poll for
Le Figaro
and LCI, attacked his ex-comrade.
"
I do not share at all the same values as Mr. Mariani
", he introduced, before quoting the service record of his co-campaign manager, Philippe Vardon, former activist of Unité Radicale, a small group dissolved after the attempt assassination of one of its members against Jacques Chirac in 2002. "
It's downright disgusting, filthy
", he criticized.
Read also: Regional: Renaud Muselier files a complaint against his rival Thierry Mariani
An accusation to which Thierry Mariani immediately retorted, evoking "
bullshit
" of youth "
regretted
" by his co-campaign manager.
“
As we can not blame me personally, we attack the people who are on my list,
” added the candidate of the National Rally, under the eyes of the five other heads of the list present for this debate.
I realized I was the punching bag of the evening.
"
Thierry mariani
Throughout the debates, Thierry Mariani was the target of numerous attacks from the various candidates. "
Your positions are infamous
", for example tackled Jean-Laurent Félizia, head of the list of the Ecological and Social Rally, in reference to the positions taken by the former LR vis-à-vis Syrian President Bashar El- Assad. "
I understood that I was the punching bag of the evening
", retorted the candidate RN, estimating that the other candidates had as "
sole object
" to "
prevent
" from reaching the top in the second round. .
Despite these invective, the heads of the lists got to the bottom of their ideas on many subjects.
Thierry Mariani, who readily recognizes the "
good things
" made by Renaud Muselier, however pleaded for the recovery plan of the region to address "
small businesses
" who "
do not have the means to address the authorities public
”.
Isabelle Bonnet, the candidate of Lutte Ouvrière, for her part denounced the policy of the president of the region which "
consists
" according to her in "
watering the large groups
".
To read also: Renaud Muselier: "Our region does not want to be Marine Le Pen's stepping stone for the presidential election"
Tourism, wind turbines, transport: many subjects on which the regions have expertise were addressed by the candidates, in an often cordial and sometimes unbridled atmosphere.
"
Trains are missing
", defended the leftist candidate Jean-Laurent Félizia while Thierry Mariani explained why he was "
radically against
" the establishment of new wind turbines in the territory.
The presence of the wolf in many lands was also at the heart of bitter discussions between the candidates.
Renaud Muselier attacked on insecurity
If the various heads of the list recognized that the transport situation had “
improved
” in the region, several of them spoke of growing “
insecurity
” in stations and in certain trains.
"
We must put people back in the stations,
" pleaded Noël Chuisano, head of the Debout la France list.
Thierry Mariani also gave the example of "
people
" taking transport with "
the ball in the stomach
".
To remedy this, the RN candidate notably proposed increasing the number of railway security officers.
To read also: Jérôme Sainte-Marie: "A victory of Thierry Mariani in PACA would constitute a decisive event for the future of the right"
A subject on which Jean-Laurent Félizia preferred to kick in touch, evoking "
energy insecurity
".
Before coming back to it to clarify that “
a controller in a train is authoritative
”.
"
A controller has become a target for thugs,
" replied the RN candidate.
For his part, the regional president was content to defend his record.
"
Trains aren't that bad (...) it's not a disaster,
" he replied.
I have already been a minister, you have only been a secretary of state.
"
Thierry mariani
The passes of arms between the two favorites continued throughout the evening. "
If Renaud Muselier wins, it will be good news for the President of the Republic
", for example tackled Thierry Mariani, in reference to the alliance between the president of the region and the LREM list. And to launch to him a few minutes later: "
I have already been a minister, you have only been a secretary of state
". The LR candidate has also returned the blows, attacking him in particular on his meetings with the Grand Mufti of Syria between 2016 and 2019. "
He is anti-Islamist in Marseille and collaborator in Damascus,
" he said .
At the end of the debate, the question of the “
republican front
” was widely raised by the candidates. Only Jean-Marc Governatori, head of the Ecology list at the center, has already called for the rally behind Renaud Muselier's list. The others have so far refused to speak. Jean-Laurent Félizia, whose position could be decisive, explained that he refused to be "
the broom car of Mr. Muselier
". And to conclude: "
I do not want to say anything that could stop our dynamic (...) First, we vote for, and after, a vote by default
".
