Editorial. Xavier Bertrand’s campaign for Matignon

During the Olympic break, the campaign for the post of Prime Minister continues. The left has chosen its candidate, Lucie Castets, but on the Republican right, the name that stands out, without the party having designated it, is that of Xavier Bertrand.

“He can greatly serve France”said Gérald Darmanin at the end of July, who owes him a lot and led his regional campaign in 2015. “Great Republican among Republicans”says Sabrina Agresti-Roubache, the Secretary of State, while Bruno Le Maire finds him “many qualities, the first of which must be to form a coalition, to bring people together, to dialogue.”

Xavier Bertrand is gathering support, soliciting it by trying to broaden his base to find coalitions, without being very discreet, moreover. Former minister Stéphane Travert, on the left wing of Macronie, tells it like this on point that “Xavier [Bertrand] is a sly one, he asks MPs to tell me ‘You should call Bertrand’ so that he can then say that he is being approached by Macron’s party.” He embodies the province, the social right, not so far from the left and was twice elected president of Hauts-de-France against the RN. He has also been a minister several times.

Like all politicians who dream of being President of the Republic! Xavier Bertrand has been campaigning almost constantly for over 10 years. Since that day in September 2012 when he gave up running for the presidency of the UMP to focus on the Élysée. Since the slap he took in the 2021 primary, his fear is that he will be forgotten, that his family will not make him their obvious candidate. “If I ever want to have a chance, he explains to his relatives, I must show myself as the courageous one, who does not hide in difficult times for France.”

He is therefore working to find majorities in the Assembly and for Emmanuel Macron to have a chance to appoint him. Xavier Bertrand recently saw Bertrand Pancher, the former head of the LIOT group. He is one of the few on the right to rejoice in the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games, which he says allowed France to “reaffirm its universalism, its diversity and this capacity to come together, which is our strength.”

Within the Republican right The Wauquiez/Retailleau duo, which now chairs the two parliamentary groups, embodies another right, a more traditional Catholic one, with a candidate who is Laurent Wauquiez. If he were to succeed at Matignon, Xavier Bertrand would risk becoming the obvious candidate for 2027, whereas if he failed, the entire right would sink with him. He repeats to anyone who will listen that Wauquiez’s LR will never censure a Bertrand government! Some who would not be against ministerial portfolios will say to Laurent Wauquiez: let him do it.

For Emmanuel Macron, the interest in leaking this hypothesis is to be able to say “You see, we’re open!”, mEven if it is true that the president of Hauts-de-France has not spared his criticism since the first five-year term. It remains to neutralize Gabriel Attal who has been more than cold with the President of the Republic since the dissolution, so that the center bloc also follows him.