The former head of state took advantage of a lunch on Tuesday with around fifteen Les Républicains deputies to distance himself from Emmanuel Macron. Without forgetting to hit a few of his political “friends”.
Two hours of meals, red meat and vegetables for the main course – which the former President of the Republic did not touch, unlike the raspberry dessert – and… a lot of politics, obviously. Here is how we could summarize the lunch which brought together, Tuesday September 19, in the premises of the Questure of the National Assembly, Nicolas Sarkozy and sixteen Les Républicains deputies, at the initiative of the elected representative of Indre Nicolas Forissier. “It was the Sarko show!”comments, half-weary, half-amused, one of the guests.
Very talkative, the former boss of the right delivered his vision of the economy, Europe, Africa and the war in Ukraine. But it was above all his point of view on Emmanuel Macron and LR’s strategy vis-à-vis the Head of State which caught the attention of the guests. “Macron, it’s over. He’s the only Frenchman who won’t be able to run in the next presidential election. You have to play the balance of power and force him to pursue right-wing policies, which is not natural for him”developed Nicolas Sarkozy, whose relations with the current president have cooled in recent times.
At issue: Emmanuel Macron’s refusal to ally with LR within the framework of a government coalition, a proposal pushed by Nicolas Sarkozy since the last presidential campaign. “He decided to go it alone, he didn’t want to listen to our advice. So Macron is Macron. And the right is the right,” decided the one who has just published the last volume of his memoirs, The Time of Fighting.
“Wauquiez believes he is the best”
For the rest, true to his reputation, Nicolas Sarkozy took advantage of the feasts to scratch some of his political “friends”. If he believed that, as party leader, Eric Ciotti should be the next head of the list in the European elections – “He has to go, at least people will identify the Republican right!” –, he reserved a sharper barb for his former minister Laurent Wauquiez.
The current president of the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region is preparing for the 2027 presidential election far from the media sirens. “He thinks he’s the best. It’s true that he has a lot of talent, but by not talking, no one knows! He needs to stop with his stupid strategy”, scratched Nicolas Sarkozy, according to comments reported by a participant.