It's a tradition.
For his return, Laurent Wauquiez climbs Mont Mézenc, accompanied by activists and journalists.
And this year, it is with an eye on the presidential election that President LR of the Auvergne - Rhône-Alpes region launched his political year this Sunday.
Laurent Wauquiez called on the right to prepare "the big meeting of 2027", a "huge task" to which he intends to devote himself "entirely".
“My conviction is that we have a mission: to prepare today for the post-Macron period”, affirmed Laurent Wauquiez in front of around 200 people who came to climb Mont Mézenc with him.
“We need to get higher.
It is an immense task to which I want to devote myself entirely", he added, explaining his method: "To question oneself, to dive into the deep country, to renew the thread of confidence which has been lost, mobilize the forces of the start.
“We must prepare now”, underlined Laurent Wauquiez, who does not “intend to (s') lock up in an ivory tower”.
The president of the Auvergne - Rhône-Alpes region announced on July 17 that he would not be a candidate for the presidency of the Republicans but that he intended to build an "alternative" to "go beyond the questions of apparatus".
However, he will remain "faithful" to his political family, he assured Sunday.
"He has no desire to give the impression that he wants to short-circuit the party," said those around him.
In line with his party?
In this long-distance race, he will be able to rely in particular on the Parliament where 19 of the 62 LR deputies come from the Auvergne - Rhône-Alpes region - even if not all of them are Wauquiezists.
Laurent Wauquiez also warmly welcomed the presence of deputy Éric Ciotti, candidate for the presidency of LR: "Yes, you are right, it is with authority that we will have to stop mass immigration", said he assured to applause.
"If Laurent Wauquiez succeeds in convincing that he is rising and serving his family, people will end up accepting him," explains political scientist Emilien Houard-Vial.
But if he shows disagreements with the party line or tries to build his own network in parallel, it can cause a form of resentment with, in 2027, a complicated landing.
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In his speech, Laurent Wauquiez listed his favorite themes, denouncing “a minority of technocrats, judges, active minorities who have gotten their hands on the country”, as well as “all-out allowances”.
On the contrary, we must "put work back at the heart of French society", more "borders to better protect" and "rediscover a sense of respect (...), which implies restoring authority", he said. launched to applause.