Nicolas Sarkozy defended himself on Tuesday, June 15 vehemently before the Paris Criminal Court, where he appeared in the case of the excessive spending of his 2012 campaign. Friday, one year in prison, including six months suspended, was required against the former President of the Republic in this Bygmalion trial. Legal news that does not prevent him from keeping a close eye on his political family. A family in the midst of existential questioning after having publicly torn apart over the support to be given to Renaud Muselier in regional Paca and which is still procrastinating on how to appoint a candidate for the 2022 presidential election.
"Obviously, the fate of his family, he follows it with interest," evasively confirms those around him.
"He is careful with his visitors in the current quagmire, but is very attentive to the situation," said one of his friends.
Particularly in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region, whose outgoing president (LR) Renaud Muselier, in difficulty in the polls, is one of his friends.
During the crisis, the two men spoke regularly by phone.
Support which is not unrelated to the fact that LR has finally maintained its support for Renaud Muselier's candidacy, despite the wrath of many executives.
"He does not understand the original bullshit of having dealt with LREM"
"He thinks that the party would do better to find a presidential candidate than to interfere in the composition of the regional lists", slips a person who spoke to him on the phone.
To one of his recent direct interlocutors, the former head of state confirmed that he was "available" and willing to come and support the Marseillais in Paca in between the two rounds.
This does not mean, however, that Nicolas Sarkozy approved the strategy followed.
“He is driven by conflicting feelings.
He has friendship for Renaud, but he does not understand the original bullshit of having dealt with LREM.
He thinks he's got himself into a hell of a shit, ”confides someone close to the former President of the Republic.
“Of course he's distressed.
But he thinks above all that Jean Castex, who announced the agreement with LR in the Journal du Dimanche, should not have done it like that, specifies another of his interlocutors.
He thinks that the
master
is Estrosi in Nice.
In the municipal elections, he put people from the presidential majority on the list, but without giving the impression that there was an agreement… ”
"He can support Macron as well as Bertrand"
Basically, Nicolas Sarkozy is much more concerned about Marine Le Pen. If he finds her devoid of talent, unlike his father according to him, he believes that the president of the National Rally is able to win the next presidential election. "He thinks that it should not be fought only on values, but on economic issues, on retirement, on Europe", slips a strategist from the right who spoke about it with him.
If he assures that "only a right-wing candidate can prevent the Macron-Le Pen duel", the former president is careful not to show who has his favors. The only certainty is that he is still not converted to a primary system on which Jean Leonetti has been in charge of the floor since last week. "He wants his political family to succeed but thinks that we will only have a vision of a possible candidate at the end of the year", underlines his former spokesperson Franck Louvrier, now mayor of La Baule. In short, Nicolas Sarkozy remains attached to the idea of a "natural candidate", to which the president of LR Christian Jacob, who is going to order two vast opinion polls, is also keen on.
What feed speculations at LR. Many executives do not exclude that he plays the watch to be able to negotiate a rapprochement with Emmanuel Macron before the first round (with François Baroin in Matignon, depending on the version). "He can just as easily support Macron as Bertrand, analyzes a LR framework that rubs shoulders with him." By strategy, he will maintain the doubt as long as possible to be the maker of kings. "
