A less discreet return than usual for Laurent Wauquiez, with thorny issues

In recent years, Laurent Wauquiez had accustomed us to silent and small-scale returns. Since he was pushed out of the presidency of the LR in 2019 because of failed European elections, his traditional ascent of Mont Mézenc was without sound, just images, with few elected officials around him, on the grounds that it was a return of the president of Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes without a national vocation. Only activists from Haute-Loire and elected officials from his region were invited.

But there is a change for the 2024 edition since on Sunday, it is as president of the Republican Right group – the new name for the LR in the Assembly – that Laurent Wauquiez will climb Mont Mézenc. He has invited his 45 fellow MPs. And this is a first: Bruno Retailleau, his counterpart in the Senate, plans to participate in the hike, in order to give the image of a united right in this chaotic political period. His entourage does not 100% guarantee that Laurent Wauquiez will make a speech, although it is highly anticipated by elected officials who will make the trip, not because he would have nothing to say at the start of the school year, but rather because the situation may require him to speak beforehand. Laurent Wauquiez is indeed making his pre-entry on Friday at the Élysée. The meeting with Emmanuel Macron may require an expression without waiting for Mont Mézenc.

In any case, Laurent Wauquiez’s position has not changed regarding the future government. He remains on his line: a legislative pact to pass texts in the Assembly yes, but no to a coalition with the Macronists, nor to participation in a possible government. And what does it matter if the name of Xavier Bertrand, his best enemy on the right, is circulating for Matignon. “It does not exist without the agreement of the parliamentary group,” persists one of his close associates. But Laurent Wauquiez is on a ridge line: remaining independent, while having dealt positions with the Macronists for his troops in the Assembly. Not necessarily readable for voters, or even for some in his camp.

And Laurent Wauquiez has other projects to do this fall because Éric Ciotti is still officially the party boss, despite his alliance in the legislative elections with the RN. Who does LR belong to? The courts will decide in mid-October. Laurent Wauquiez still hopes that Éric Ciotti will leave his position by then. Then it will be necessary to rebuild a damaged and weakened party. That Laurent Wauquiez takes over the reins is “a possibility”, said his close guard. “It’s his duty,” push some to the right. Because it is another climb that Laurent Wauquiez has in mind: the Élysée in 2027. A summit much steeper than the 1,753 meters of Mont Mézenc.