“Hello sir, for Valérie Pécresse!” In Saint-Ouen, near Paris, regardless of the torments of political life and the weather, the young people of the Les Républicains party are on the bridge from 8 am to distribute leaflets, near the metro. While Valérie Pécresse, their candidate for the presidential election, thought she had achieved the union of her political family, ultimately some Republicans prefer to support Emmanuel Macron. Deputy Éric Woerth thus announced on Wednesday February 9 that he would vote for the current president, followed by the mayor of Calais, Natacha Bouchart, on Thursday evening.
These defections do not surprise the militants. “We have known for a few weeks that he does not necessarily want to support our candidate. His decision makes things clear”, explains one of them about Eric Woerth. His leaflet-distributing neighbor is not particularly worried. “I always regret the defections but, after all, Éric Woerth represents a voice. If we take two today, we will have regained the voices that we had lost”, he says, a philosopher. One voice lost, two found, therefore, for this young activist who is accelerating distribution.
Still, beyond the defections, criticism is being heard within the party. “I tell him: be careful Valérie, I don’t know any candidates who have won on a white paper”, thus launched on franceinfo Thursday, February 10, the LR mayor of the 7th arrondissement, Rachida Dati. The Sarkozyist criticizes him in particular for his lack of incarnation and criticizes his campaign, both in form and in substance. “Ucampaign is not the foam of the waves, the adventures of knowing who said what and whenrelativist Othman Nasrou spokesperson for Valérie Pecresse. It is a project and a campaign of conviction.”
“Valérie Pécresse’s responsibility is to continue the dialogue with the French and to go everywhere to explain her project.”
Othman Nasrou, spokesperson for Valérie Pécresseat franceinfo
This will go through its first big meeting on Sunday, after speeches in small rooms in the region. At the Zénith de Paris, in front of 7,000 people expected, the candidate will have to make people forget the bad signal launched by these defections to initiate the turning point that this meeting is supposed to represent in her campaign. “It is a question of winning the room and the crowd but above all of winning over the Frenchexplains Damien Abad, the leader of the LR deputies. The challenge is that this discourse irrigates and infuses. Valérie Pécresse will show her project for France, her determination, her desire, who she is.” For this key moment, she may benefit from the advice of a certain Nicolas Sarkozy. The former president has still not expressed his support for the candidate, but he receives her on Friday.