Just five days before the presidential election, projections can be difficult for the right, but electoral campaigns are never safe from surprises, and it is never too late to talk about the substance.
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It is in this spirit that François-Xavier Bellamy received David Lisnard on Tuesday evening March 5 in Versailles, as part of a public meeting planned for a long time in support of Valérie Pécresse.
"
The only poll that matters is the election
," says the MEP before joining, with the mayor of Cannes, a small crowded room not far from the castle, where 300 people are waiting for them impatiently.
Barely returned from Guadeloupe, the presidential candidate is not present but all the elected officials gathered (Senator Sophie Primas, MP Philippe Bennasaya, Mayor of Versailles François de Mazières, spokesperson for Valérie Pécresse Othman Nasrou. ..) are there to salute his
"tenacity"
and support his project.
François-Xavier Bellamy (president of the French delegation of the EPP) and David Lisnard (president of the Association of Mayors of France) often share the same analyzes of the state of France.
They showed on Tuesday their convergence of views on the future of the right.
The mayor of Cannes gives a simple definition: “
It is a classic right - I like this term - which is in its time, which knows the economic, demographic and sociological realities, which believes in the future of the country and which knows that the future is a construction requiring foundations.
History, culture, spirituality... A right which thinks that the French singularity can be a huge asset in globalization.
We make our anchorage and our roots an element of prosperity and openness.
It is neither progressivism nor reaction.
This is another thing.
François-Xavier Bellamy does not withdraw a word of what has just been said.
And if the two "
friends
" came to Versailles to support the candidacy of Valérie Pécresse on the eve of a "
crucial
», they are also there to trace the perspectives of a right to be built.
"
It all starts on Sunday
," warns Bellamy.
Culture and education
In addition to the experience of the local mandate that they share, and their convictions on the need to grant greater confidence to the territories, these two elected officials strongly stepped up to the plate during the health crisis and did not miss an opportunity to point out the weaknesses, even the faults of its governmental management.
At the level of his city, the mayor of Cannes has distinguished himself by deploying a multitude of initiatives to fill the gaps in the State and the MEP has pointed out the dangers of the restriction of freedoms, ordered by the State in the name of protecting the French.
Another point in common: François-Xavier Bellamy and David Lisnard both place culture and education at the heart of their political vision.
This is also one of the reasons for the very critical look they have on the presidency of Emmanuel Macron.
"
We did not wait for a presidential campaign to try to build an alternative to macronism
," says Bellamy, denouncing the "
damage
" caused, according to him, by the government.
He regrets that this campaign has passed over "
the essentials
" while the current crisis raises the question of the future of France in Europe and in the world.
A nation that does not keep its accounts and a nation that does not keep its rank.
»
Francois-Xavier Bellamy
"
When we are faced with such a wall of debts and deficits, we have reason to worry about our future
", indicated the MEP, estimating that Valérie Pécresse will have been the "
only
" candidate to propose a project to restore accounts public.
"
A nation that does not keep its accounts and a nation that does not keep its rank
", he insisted, before indicating that France's European partners looked at our country with "
compassion
" given its fragilities. , far beyond the Covid debt.
“
We know very well that we will no longer have the leeway to make the necessary reforms.
“, he was moved, referring the responsibility for this situation to the Elysée and denouncing a “
moral scandal
”.
“
The President of the Republic will have bought his presidential election with the money of the French
”, accused François-Xavier Bellamy, to applause.
To qualify this right which he believes to be full of resources, he speaks of “
transmission
”.
For him, this is the heart of a political responsibility consisting in “
assuming a sense of the long term and permanence
”.
There again, while recalling the seniority of the problem, he points to a fault in power.
"
Behind the structural debt situation of our country, there is perhaps a form of irresponsibility
", he said before adding: "
Emmanuel Macron and Edouard Philippe, let's not be afraid to remind you, will have more indebted France before the Covid started, than François Hollande in the same period of the quinquennium
”.
Seriousness of the issues
Beyond the economic realities, Bellamy underlined several challenges: overcoming the denial of realities, combating the European blindness consisting in denying the cultural identity of European societies, overcoming the crisis of transmission, preparing for the new challenges raised by the war in Ukraine, taking on the seriousness of the issues... "
It was not the students with an immigrant background who told me that there was no French culture, he was a candidate for presidential election in 2017 who was elected...
”, added the teacher, drawing further applause.
According to him, the Minister of Education Blanquer will only have "
exactly extended the educational policy of Mrs. Vallaud-Belkacem
" under Hollande.
“
What will be played out in a few days is the destiny of France, but whatever happens, and even if our family were able to win, we have one certainty: the work begins.
This election can only be a starting point
,” concluded François-Xavier Bellamy before giving the floor to David Lisnard.
“Civic Disintegration”
The mayor of Cannes begins his speech by quoting Alexis de Tocqueville: “
When the past no longer illuminates the future, the spirit walks in darkness
”.
A way of also drawing up prospects for overcoming a “
period of civic disintegration
” and “
democratic crisis
”.
Based on his municipal experience as a “
practitioner
”, David Lisnard insists on the need to link “
public performance and collective meaning
”.
“
The state debt, no offense to the great illusionists, it will have to be repaid.
It is unavoidable
,” he warns.
Like his predecessor on stage, the chosen one speaks of political responsibility when he believes that the future is not an illusion but an obligation to act now.
“
We cannot fall into the ease of distributing money that does not belong to you and making future generations pay only to establish our own re
-election”, he criticizes, denouncing the “
cynicism
presidential campaign to increase state spending.
But for Lisnard, who developed the teaching of Latin and Greek in extracurricular time in his town, it is important not to forget that "
great illusions precede great debacles
", that "
educational downgrading precedes the decline of country
”, that “
spiritual renunciation precedes cancel culture
” and that “
regular disintegration precedes civic collapse
”.
The mayor also believes that Valérie Pécresse's project is "
the only one to talk seriously about the school
" and when he talks about tradition, the Versailles public is won over.
"
Tradition is transmission and transmission is the only way to approach the future
”, launches the guest by provoking a “
bravo
” in the room.
After more than two hours of interventions, François-Xavier Bellamy and David Lisnard invited the audience, attentive and delighted, not to forget the stakes of an imminent election.
The Cannes guest also concluded with a quote from Bernanos launched as a call for the construction of a lucid and daring right: “
We do not wait for the future as we wait for the train.
Hope is a risk to be run
”.
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