His name and his face are not yet displayed on the militants’ t-shirts on Saturday September 3 at the back-to-school campus for young LRs, but Eric Ciotti seems to be a favorite to become the leader that the Republicans are looking for, after their failure resounding in the last presidential election. “Eric Ciotti is loyalty to the Republicans, he represents a right line for a right-wing party and that’s why we support him, defends an activist. His speech corresponds to what the majority of activists think. He defends France, that’s what I like.”
Eric Ciotti came second in the last Republican primary, won by Valérie Pécresse. But after the resounding failure of the party during the presidential election, the themes of Eric Ciotti seem to win support. “He’s been hammering the same subjects for years. Today, that’s what pays off: he hasn’t changed his route and line, and now it’s his turn to take over the presidency”adds another activist.
On his card, an uninhibited right that takes responsibility: “We are really waiting for this Sarkozy side which can come back and Ciotti embodies it excellently”, concludes a young supporter. His recipe for the podium: flashy themes, such as immigration, security. A line that its activists, like Theo, have their own way of summarizing: “Pardon me the expression in advance, but as many people say, France is in deep shit… So we have to save the thing, we have to save what’s left, it’s now!”
“We are the General’s party: we are this right that is both popular, on the right of the workers. The real right, the real party of France.”
Théo, a supporter of Eric Ciottiat franceinfo
All this makes him a divisive, radical candidate, but a little too much for Maxime’s taste: “If we put Ciotti tomorrow to debate against a Fabien Roussel or a Jean-Luc Mélenchon, I don’t think that Ciotti manages to hold on. We need a calm person who is not totally confused, who comes and yells everywhere ‘La France, it’s me, France, it’s me.”
A very caricatural composite portrait, according to Eric Ciotti: “This argument ultimately leads us not to say things, notify the candidate. Of course we have to unite, but we have to be clear because the gathering must not be the status quo. I will not be the candidate for the status quo.” The boss of the very powerful federation Les Républicains des Alpes-Maritimes makes a promise: the “Ciotti-mania” will be the best springboard for Laurent Wauquiez for the presidential election of 2027. His strategy to make the right salivate again.