The day started on the edge. Five days following her meeting at the Zénith de Paris and the violent criticism that followed, Valérie Pécresse – stunned, according to several of her supporters – resumed, on Friday February 18, the course of her campaign, in the Alpes-Maritimes. On the port of Cannes, the candidate of the Les Républicains (LR) party stops to greet passers-by, goes around the sunny terraces, takes selfies. Immaculate white jacket, smile resolutely displayed. Above all, do not appear like a wounded beast, following a terrible week of campaigning, undermined by ridicule – including in his camp –, doubts and a fall in certain polls. His entourage denounces a “stalking”.
In his wake, MP Eric Pauget, a loyal supporter from the start, recognizes “a complicated moment”. “We are in a phase of rebalancing, even of reconquest”, he continues, observing that, “in this washing machine”, “Valérie” shows up “pugnant”. The mayor of Cannes, David Lisnard, who receives the weakened candidate, does the job, too: “For me, the best candidate is not the one who will do the trick, but the one who will lead the country well. »
The people of Cannes welcome him politely. But the meeting left its mark. “She was uncomfortable, it was embarrassing”, observes Brigitte, while her husband, Gilles (they did not wish to give their names), explains that they are “ex-LR left for Macron” and that the Zenith does not give them “don’t want to come back”. Suddenly, a woman grabs the candidate. Her name is Evelyne, had “five husbands”, voted for Fillon and Le Pen in 2017. ” Be yourself ! », she urges, hugging her tight. Pécresse smiles, thanks her for the advice. “A meeting does not make the election, what matters is my project, she defends later. I make my way. »
Maximum pressure
Throughout the day, candidate LR tries to look good. But seems preoccupied elsewhere. What is she thinking? To the declining polls? To the barely veiled criticisms of his allies, Xavier Bertrand and Jean-François Copé, who distanced themselves from a line deemed too right-wing, following the use, on Sunday, of the words “great replacement”? Or is she apprehensive regarding the meeting she is to give in the evening at Le Cannet in front of 2,000 people, and which she knows will be scrutinized, dissected? On leaving an Alzheimer reception center in Antibes, where she met the staff, she stumbles once morest an obstacle, almost falls, before catching herself in extremis. On the wire… “She is lucid, philosopher the LR mayor of Antibes, Jean Leonetti. She knows she is going through an area of turbulence. »
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