He lost all hope in the Battle of the Elysee Palace, but gained a new status. Eric Ciotti, beaten Saturday, December 4 by Valérie Pécresse in the second round of the Congress of Republicans (39.05% against 60.95%), remains the major surprise of this internal ballot. Outsider a few weeks ago, the deputy for Alpes-Maritimes became a finalist at the expense of two favorites, Michel Barnier and Xavier Bertrand. Members have even placed him in the lead in the first round on Thursday, before the defeated candidates call to vote against him in the second.
A surprise, knowing thatEric Ciotti embarked on this competition with long blurred outlines because Laurent Wauquiez had given up. “If he had been a presidential candidate, I would not have been a candidate”, affirmed the deputy from the Côte d’Azur on BFMTV on November 24.
The Auvergne and the Niçois are linked by mutual respect and a convergence of views on certain subjects, especially those linked to identity and security. It is no coincidence that these two themes are at the heart of Eric Ciotti’s project, who hammers out at length of public meetings (fifty since the start of the campaign) his desire to see France “remain France”. “Zero impunity” in the face of delinquents, “French Guantánamo” for terrorists, “national and European priority” in terms of employment and allowances … So many measures that he has been advocating for a long time and which punctuated this campaign without animosity between the candidates.
To get there, the “Mr. Security” of the right has highlighted his loyalty to the house LR: he never left Les Républicains, unlike Xavier Bertrand and Valérie Pécresse. The deputy made it one of his campaign axes and the guarantee of his independence from Emmanuel Macron and Marine Le Pen. On this niche, he faces Michel Barnier, also loyal to the right-wing party since 2017. But the former European commissioner made, according to his detractors, a disappointing performance in the National Council of November 20, without scoring points during the debates.
During the four televised clashes, Eric Ciotti precisely stayed “in his hallway”, according to his team, keeping calm to develop his program. Had he not told his sympathizers gathered on the heights of the Nice hinterland at the end of August, that he would lead “a serene, peaceful campaign, based on ideas” ? “Ciotti appeared cool to the public during the debates”, concedes a minister, not really surprised: “He’s the guy on the right unrolling ideas on the right.” “He’s having a very good campaign following his line”, we recognized in the entourage of Xavier Bertrand.
“Eric Ciotti had a great campaign, whether on his personality or on his proposals on sovereign subjects.”
A relative of Valérie Pécresseto franceinfo
The “little” candidate took advantage of a favorable dynamic, week after week. To the point of raising doubts among competitors: and if it was him, the surprise of 2021, as François Fillon was five years earlier, a programmatic model for this liberal-conservative? “We suspected that we were in the right”, confided to franceinfo its campaign director, Alexandra Borchio-Fontimp, the day after the first round. “At the end of August, we wanted to have a great campaign and try to impose Eric Ciotti’s ideas on the winner. During the debates and on the ground, people discovered him and we felt a craze.”
Ultimately, regardless of the outcome of the second round. “The bet is largely won”, affirmed parliamentary support on the eve of the second round. Already, appetites are sharpening in anticipation of the post-congress. Valérie Pécresse will have the obligation to come to terms with him. Unless he sees the rest otherwise.
Beaten by the representative of a less right-wing line, will the member of the Alpes-Maritimes approach Eric Zemmour, for whom he had called to vote in the event of a duel against Emmanuel Macron in April 2022? The far-right polemicist, declared candidate for the election, congratulated him after his result of the first round. “We will not work with Eric Zemmour, who has never released a single proposal”, sweeps Alexandra Borchio-Fontimp. “Eric Ciotti will remain loyal to his political family. He hasn’t left them when things were going badly, he’s not going to leave them now that she’s doing well.”