Who comes at the right time to who knows how to wait? In recent weeks, Anne Hidalgo seems to be developing a certain idea of quiet strength. Everything remains to be done for the presidential candidate, still lagging behind in the polls – she is credited with
3.5 to 6.5% voting intentions. If his inauguration by the PS this Thursday should be only a formality, questioning of elected socialists
here or there also taint his start of the campaign.
Even Julien Dray went there for his comment. The member of the national office of the PS, was very critical of the social program that Anne Hidalgo could carry, in the show Complement of Inquiry (France 2) during September. In the entourage of the candidate, we elude: it is only “scum” and the candidate is “determined”, provide several of his supports to 20 minutes, who point out that the polls have rarely predicted the poster for the second round six months before the poll. “I have never seen, internally, such strong and clear support for a candidacy. Never, ”enthuses Pierre Jouvet, spokesperson for the PS.
In the camp of the candidate, one justifies and claims a start of campaign “with low noise” and “on the ground”. “We must give ourselves the time, we are six months from the deadline,” says the mayor of Rennes, Nathalie Appéré. Travel to meet the French “is absolutely essential when you claim to be a candidate for the presidency of the Republic”, adds the mayor of Nancy, Mathieu Klein. Even if “it’s less spectacular than a boxing match with Eric Zemmour,” he quipped.
The left believes in its luck
Anyway, “the French are not yet focused on the presidential election”, for his part justifies the mayor of Nancy. “The left is not the favorite in this election, but it can win,” says Rémi Féraud, relying on the precedent of the German Social Democrats in September.
The senator readily admits that “it is hard to be heard in the Zemmourian hysteria” and in the face of “the large number of current candidates”. Despite some thunderous proposals, such as lowering fuel taxes or doubling teachers’ salaries, Anne Hidalgo is struggling to make her candidacy unavoidable. A recent Odoxa survey (commissioned by Le Figaro), emphasizes that supporters of the left claim to have greater proximity with the ecologist Yannick Jadot (25%) and the rebellious Jean-Luc Mélenchon (24%), far ahead of the socialist at only 15%.
” Do not panic “
But Anne Hidalgo’s supporters are united and want to believe in her lucky star. There is “no panic on board”, However, takes the trouble to reassure Senator Patrick Kanner, joined by Nathalie Appéré. A form of serenity hammered by the entourage of the mayor of Paris.
Faced with a “very congested starting line on the left”, there is no question of lining up behind the candidate of the Greens, say one among the Socialists. “We could say to ourselves that everything is screwed up, that we are getting behind Jadot… No! Really, it is not at all the spirit that reigns in the campaign team, because, according to Patrick Kanner, nothing is decided yet. “We are in a phase where everyone shows their muscles”, even if “the left in confetti is the left beaten, very clearly”, he predicts.
Pierre Jouvet believes that it is not impossible that the presidential election holds surprises. The entry ticket for the second round could be, according to him, more accessible than expected, with a qualification threshold potentially “around 15 or 16%”.
The PS will unveil the campaign poster of its candidate when the results are announced on the night of Thursday to Friday. The goal? Begin this weekend the distribution of leaflets and posters throughout France. A investiture convention will then take place in Lille, on Martine Aubry’s land, on October 23. A new “start” for the campaign of Hidalgo, with the hope of a new impetus to thwart the forecasts.