The deputy of the Alpes-Maritimes Éric Ciotti said he was "
ready to take up the challenge
" of the election for the presidency of the Republicans, without his "
final decision
" being "
completely taken
", in an interview with the
Journal du Sunday
.
"
My final decision has not been fully taken, but I am ready to take up the challenge and very determined
", declared Éric Ciotti.
Coming second in the right-wing primary for the presidential election, Éric Ciotti assured that he had started “
work to offer both a broad rally and a modernized political offer, in line with the expectations of the French
”.
The first round of the Republican presidential election will take place electronically from December 3 at 6 p.m. to December 4 at 6 p.m. and, if no candidate obtains a majority of the votes cast, a second round will be organized on the 10 and December 11.
Pradié, Bellamy, Barnier, Genevard...
If none has officially applied yet, the number 2 of the party Aurélien Pradié, the MEP François-Xavier Bellamy or the former European commissioner Michel Barnier have expressed their interest in the presidency of LR.
Annie Genevard, current interim president after the departure of Christian Jacob, also indicated that she did not rule out running as a candidate.
Read also LR Presidency: the cards are redistributed
Conversely, the president of the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region Laurent Wauquiez, like that of Hauts-de-France Xavier Bertrand, gave up running for the post.
“
Laurent Wauquiez is the one who has the best assets to hope for victory in 2027
”, hammered Éric Ciotti in the
JDD
.
"
I respect his choice, carrying a real strategy for the return to power of the Republican right
", he continued, believing that Laurent Wauquiez, "
can answer this question of leadership
" within LR with a view to the next presidential election.
As for Nicolas Sarkozy, who supported in the last legislative elections a rival of Éric Ciotti in the Alpes-Maritimes, the right must "
assume to break this link of dependence
" with the former president, estimated the deputy.
According to Éric Ciotti, LR must imperatively carry out its “
ideological revolution
” to hope to weigh between macronism and the RN.
“
I believe in the need to assert a political line resolutely on the right, without confusion, without compromise
,” he explained.
“
More than ever, I am convinced that the ideas of the right – authority, identity and freedom – are the answers to the ills of our country
”, underlined the elected representative of the Alpes-Maritimes.