“My dear Xavier”, “my dear Valérie”, soft looks and supported hugs, it was time for cuddling at Les Républicains on Friday morning in the Lille metropolis. After having met this week all her competitors in the primary on their land (Ciotti, Juvin and Barnier), Valérie Pécresse, nominated for the presidential party, came to finish her tour of the defeated in the North at
Xavier Bertrand, the big loser of the ballot.
On the program: a one-to-one coffee in the morning on the Grand’Place in Lille, a company visit to Croix and a public meeting in the form of a mini-meeting at the end of the morning in La Madeleine, a town bordering Lille.
The sadness of Xavier Bertrand
In the communal room, many elected officials from the North but also a good hundred LR activists from the region came to attend the exchanges of kindness between the two former rivals who are now calling for the unity of the family of the right.
A message hammered home by Xavier Bertrand who also did not try to hide his disillusionment after the slap received last week. “I would like to say to all those who send me messages and who ask me: so how are you? Not too disappointed ? The first thing is that I felt a deep sadness, after the results and after having expressed my support for Valérie, for all those who were sad, ”began the president of Hauts-de-France.
Pécresse passes ointment on Bertrand’s back
Before calling to support without ulterior motives his ex-opponent for the presidential election. “There are things that go beyond personal ambitions: the sense of responsibility, the sense of the State and the sense of the French. If you do not want our country to be faced with greater difficulties in the next five years, then choose Valérie Pécresse, ”chanted Xavier Bertrand to the applause of the activists.
A speech that went straight to the heart, finally it seems, of Valérie Pécresse who gave a nice hug to her ex-opponent. Before passing him a tube of ointment in the back once arrived at the platform by addressing the members of the North.
“I know you are a little disappointed, I know some of you must have been a little sad for the past few days. But I wanted to tell you one thing: the fights that you lose at 1% are the most difficult defeats but they are also the defeats in which you show your character and in which you show the leather that is made of. And Xavier Bertrand is made from the leather of statesmen. Xavier, you are essential in this campaign which is opening ”. General ovation, guaranteed emotions, all that was missing were the violins and the lanterns to believe in a wedding speech.
Macron targeted, Royal ovation
And to celebrate this union between these two leaders of the right, who had left LR before returning there, a common opponent was appointed: Emmanuel Macron. The President of the Republic, after “a five-year term of misfortune,” says Xavier Bertrand, is clearly the target of the Republicans for the presidential election. Hounded in the latest polls by Valérie Pécresse, the Head of State took it for his rank. “Our ardent obligation is to put an end to this five-year term for nothing, to this five-year term which has damaged France, to this five-year term which has fractured France as never before and in which the French do not feel heard or respected”, loose the candidate LR.
Other presidential candidates, they will not be mentioned by name. Even if, to everyone’s surprise, Ségolène Royal was entitled to an ovation from elected officials and LR activists (yes, yes) under the injunction of Valérie Pécresse. Never seen before, quite simply. “At the end of the congress, she said that she praised the elegance of the Republican men. Adding that the Socialists did not have this elegance when she won the primary of the PS [2006]. I am going to make Ségolène Royal applaud for the first time in a militant meeting of the Republicans. “
Less surprising, the slogans of the candidate’s program hammered out during the speech: order, security, immigration, pensions. Then, drawing inspiration from the examples of Margaret Thatcher in the United Kingdom and Angela Merkel in Germany, Valérie Pécresse praised the “daring” of LR activists to have nominated for the first time a woman as a candidate for the right. Do not throw any more to win definitively the militants happy to see their united family. And it didn’t matter if most of them hadn’t made Pécresse their favorite at the convention.
Activists happy with the rediscovered unity
Retired, Alain and Servane voted Ciotti in both rounds but now support their candidate unreservedly. “We are going to vote Pécresse because we want to kick Macron out. We want the right to come back to power. “Same story with Roger, yet a supporter of Bertrand in the primary. “I have no pangs in my heart. She is an excellent candidate and she amazes me every time she speaks. For me, Macron is too soft. He wants to please everyone but he does not please anyone ”, assures this retiree from Lille.
Support of Xavier Bertrand in the primary, Arnaud does not regret the defeat of his champion, on the contrary. “I would have been disappointed if there had been no rally. For me, this is great. We found a politician who brought together quickly and we are ready to win. It was the right choice. It’s a new chapter for LR ”.
Forget about Fillon’s nightmare campaign in 2017
To believe that after the nightmarish campaign of François Fillon in 2017, the militants especially wanted to find the unity of their political family. Mayor of La Madeleine and support of Fillon five years ago, Sébastien Leprêtre compares the two periods. “This gathering is much more than an image, it is a reality. Five years ago, we felt that the rally was not there after the vote. There, we feel that it is real. All the candidates of the primary are really behind Valérie Pécresse. I don’t feel a staging. It has been ten years since the right has exercised power at the national level. The issue also requires everyone to come together, ”insists the elected official.
Whatever the candidate, as long as we find the Elysee, it was the slogan shared by the heart or the reason of LR Friday in the North. It remains to be seen whether the wall of unity will not crack by April 10, the date of the first round of the presidential election.