LREM MP Aurore Bergé responded to attacks by the Les Républicains party accusing Emmanuel Macron of being a candidate for the presidential election without saying so. The elected ensures that Nicolas Sarkozy, in 2012, “entered the campaign much later”. It’s wrong.
Article written by
Posted
Update
Reading time : 1 min.
Emmanuel Macron has still not officially declared himself a presidential candidate … and there is no rush according to LREM MP Aurore Bergé. Questioned on Sunday February 6 on franceinfo, the elected official defended the president by ensuring that in 2012 Nicolas Sarkozy “entered the campaign again much later”.
Aurore Bergé thus intended to respond to the remarks of President LR Christian Jacob who, on Friday February 4, accused Emmanuel Macron of “embezzlement of public funds” by not yet declaring himself a candidate when he “uses public funds to campaign.” But Aurore Bergé is wrong. Nicolas Sarkozy had declared himself earlier.
Nicolas Sarkozy, outgoing president in 2012 officially declared himself a candidate for re-election on February 15, 2012, while the first ballot that year was set for April 22. Emmanuel Macron, for his part, is still not officially a candidate (as of February 7) while the first round is to be held on April 10. Whatever happens, he will therefore declare himself later than Nicolas Sarkozy had done.
History shows, however, that most incumbent presidents have postponed the announcement of their candidacy as late as possible. In 1965, General de Gaulle declares himself almost a month to the day before the first round. Ditto for François Mitterrand, who waited until March 22 while the election was held on April 24. Valérie Giscard d’Estaing declared herself on March 2 for a first round on April 26. It was Jacques Chirac who prolonged the suspense the least, declared on February 11 while the 1st round took place on April 21.