Without real surprise, Renaud Muselier announced his choice for the presidential election and will support the candidacy of Emmanuel Macron.
In the
Journal du Dimanche
, the president of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur (PACA) region announces his desire to engage "
fully
" in the presidential campaign: "
I will support and vote for Emmanuel Macron, after careful consideration and without hesitation
”.
For him, the Head of State will be the "
only candidate for the height in this election
".
To discover
Compare the programs of the candidates for the 2022 presidential election
Yves Thréard presents Le Club Le Figaro Presidentielle, our new political program
Follow the latest news on Emmanuel Macron's politics with the Figaro app
Read alsoEmmanuel Macron forced to remain president "
until the last quarter of an hour
"
A little later in the interview, he explains the reasons for his choice.
The host of the Élysée seems to him to have "
taken the measure of what France was
" and after five years, he believes that "
the result is there
".
Quoting the
New York Times
, he believes that France is the “
country in the world whose economy is restarting the fastest
” where unemployment is “
at its lowest since 2008
”.
Muselier also believes that Macon did "
very well
" to delay entering the campaign.
And even on the Ukrainian crisis, he praises his action.
“
I don’t know if Emmanuel Macron will manage to prevent this war, but he has given France back its voice in the concert of nations
”, still judges the one who “
falls backwards
” when he hears “
the nonsense
” of those who pointed to an electoral strategy behind the presidential diplomatic activity.
Asked about the risk of appearing as a "
traitor
" in the eyes of the Republican political family he left, the regional president said he was "
free
" and said he had "
no fear
".
Returning to his break with LR, he denounces an "
inquisition trial
" and believes that he was "
rejected unceremoniously
" after having criticized "
those who flirted with the far right
".
Pécresse and “
the death of LR
”
Then Renaud Muselier attacks Valérie Pécresse directly, accusing her of leading the Republicans to their loss.
“
In February 2022, I asked Madame Pécresse to make it clear that she will call for Macron to vote against the far right if she is absent from the second round.
Not only does she not answer, but she prefers to call
Zemmour
to vote for her, to dodge the question!
She is like
Anne Hidalgo
, in denial of her political situation – she will endorse the death of the LRs
”, castigates the regional elected representative, before reproaching a “
double fault
”, “
political
” and “
moral
” in his former political family .
According to him, "
excessive right-winging does not work
“And”
talking about French paper
“or”
great replacement
“corresponds”
nothing
“to the values of the right.
Renaud Muselier also blames Valérie Pécresse when she accuses Emmanuel Macron of "
burning the cash register
".
“
I remember that she asked without restraint for more than 1.3 billion euros for Ile de France Mobilités, and that she obtained more than a billion – she never said thank you!
“, he says.
Recalling his "
35 years
" of presence within the Gaullist family, he wants to bring Emmanuel Macron his "
political experience as a right-wing man
", preferring "
the great gathering and the great overtaking
".
“
I am choosing an experienced president, who will not stand for re-election in 2027, rather than yet another newbie president who will think about his re-election as soon as he arrives at the Élysée
”, he finally continues, considering that the “
Macron of 2022 is no longer that of 2017
”.
story of a divorce
Since the last regional elections, during which Les Républicains suspected him of playing a troubled game with the Macronists, Renaud Muselier's relations with the LR party had deteriorated considerably.
During the right-wing primary, when he wanted to support Xavier Bertrand, the candidate and president of Hauts-de-France refused it in the name of the LR unit but also to defend his competitor Éric Ciotti, accused by Renaud Muselier to be the "
false nose
" of the extreme right.
The president of the Paca region had also warned that in the event of Ciotti's victory at the congress, he would go "
directly to Macron
".
Rejected by Bertrand, Muselier had immediately slammed the door of the LRs, declaring on LCI: "
I can't find myself there
".
During the Congress of Mayors of France, Renaud Muselier also wanted to settle accounts with David Lisnard, LR mayor of Cannes and then candidate for the presidency of the AMF.
He had called to vote for his competitor, the UDI mayor of Sceaux, Philippe Laurent.
“Objective ally”
On Wednesday on BFMTV, Valérie Pécresse estimated that Renaud Muselier had "
made a joint list with LREM at the regional level
" and "
almost crashed
" the elections of the other LR presidents.
According to the right-wing candidate, he was "
already an objective ally of Emmanuel Macron
".
"
Brilliant
", had replied the president of Paca live on social networks, recalling the score of his own victory (57.5%) defended on the contrary as the fruit of the addition and the gathering against an extreme right "
swept away
”.
Read also Presidential 2022: the ball of betrayals and rallies
Renaud Muselier had laid down the conditions for his support for the presidential election in a column published on February 13 in the newspaper
L'Opinion
.
Claiming "
a vision and a course for the future
", particularly in terms of international politics, he had written this sentence that some on the right had perceived as a sign of his rallying to Emmanuel Macron.
“
In this campaign, I do not see any candidate declared up to this vocation
,” warned Renaud Muselier.
In this same text, the ex-LR had also foreseen the Ukrainian tragedy in these terms: “
War threatens in Ukraine: what is the strategy of the candidates, who has the courage to support our diplomacy led by the President of the Republic?
It is in intellectual honesty, in the name of the higher interests of France, that we recognize statesmen and women
”.
