It was expected, it is now confirmed. The president of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur (PACA) region Renaud Muselier, who left the Les Républicains party in November 2021 accusing it of drifting towards the far right, will support Emmanuel Macron in the presidential election, said he announced on Saturday February 26 in an interview at Sunday newspaper (JDD).
“No one among the declared candidates is at the level of this election”can we read in the interview, reproaching in particular the Republican candidate Valérie Pécresse for her “permanent split” once morest the far right. “This is why I will support and vote for Emmanuel Macron, following careful consideration and without hesitation”declared Renaud Muselier, even if the President of the Republic is still not an official candidate.
Reelected in June 2021 with more than 57% of the vote at the head of a region of five million inhabitants at the end of June once morest the candidate of the National Rally (RN) Thierry Mariani, Renaud Muselier left Les Républicains a few months later, denouncing a “political drift” of the party towards the extreme right, embodied according to him by Eric Ciotti, who became an adviser “authority” by Valerie Pécresse.
“What I blame the Republicans first and foremost are the ambiguities of their strategy”
“I will never support a candidate who does not clearly commit to calling on the far right to be blocked in the event of an absence in the second round”he warned in the daily Le Parisien in early February.
“What I blame the Republicans first and foremost are the ambiguities of their strategy”he explains to JDDjudging that, like the socialist Anne Hidalgo, Valérie Pécresse is “in denial of his political situation” and that his candidacy is going “endorse the death of the Republicans”. “Excessive right-winging is a political fault”according to him, but also a “moral fault”.
“Talking regarding ‘great replacement’ or ‘paper Frenchman’ in no way corresponds to the values of the French right to which I want to remain faithful: that of Jacques Chirac and Nicolas Sarkozy”continues Renaud Muselier, who specifies that he does not ask “neither title nor place in the campaign” presidential.
“Renaud Muselier has already left”
“The Macron of 2022 is no longer that of 2017” and the experience acquired by the President of the Republic constitutes ” an advantage “still judges the former Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, also considering that “no one might have prevented the Russian attack” once morest Ukraine but that “France has regained its voice in the concert of nations”.
“Renaud Muselier has already left”prophesied Valérie Pécresse, Wednesday evening on BFM-TV. “For me, Renaud Muselier is already an objective ally of Emmanuel Macron. I would be very surprised if he called to support my candidacy. In any case, for the moment, he hasn’t done anything regarding it.she said once more.
At a time when several candidates for the presidential election are struggling to collect the 500 sponsorships of elected officials needed by March 4, Renaud Muselier said he had written to all the mayors of his region. “to ask them to sponsor a candidate, whoever he is, if he is credited with more than 10% of voting intentions”. “Whether it is Jean-Luc Mélenchon, Marine Le Pen or Eric Zemmour, I do not share their ideas, but their absence would constitute a denial of democracy”he argued.