At first it was to be a classic campaign rally. But in view of recent events, Anne Hidalgo has decided to dedicate her meeting in Bordeaux, Saturday February 26, in support of Ukraine, victim of an invasion of Russia for three days. In front of a full house, with just over a thousand activists, the socialist candidate for the presidential election denounced “a true crime” from Vladimir Putin, who has announced that he wants to “expand” his offensive on Ukrainian territory. “We are with you”proclaimed the mayor of Paris to the Ukrainian people, after the speeches of the president of the New Aquitaine Region Alain Rousset, the PS deputy of the Landes Boris Vallaud and a representative of the Ukrainian community in Bordeaux.
Anne Hidalgo also calls on Emmanuel Macron and Europe to go further in the sanctions targeting the Russian regime. “We won’t let it go”she explains. “We have to reverse the balance of power. It’s an outlaw state? So let’s hit it on the wallet,” claims the candidate, who asks in particular the interruption “immediate” of the Swift systema global banking network. “I also ask for the suspension of the RT channel”continues the mayor of Paris, denouncing the “propaganda” of this Russian-funded news channel. “So that the Ukrainian people live in this space of peace that is Europe”, the socialist candidate also proposes “that we launch an accelerated procedure for Ukraine’s accession to the European Union”.
Spikes sent to Zemmour, Le Pen and Mélenchon
But 43 days before the first round of the presidential election, which will be held on April 10, Anne Hidalgo does not forget the race at the Élysée, in which she is still struggling according to the latest polls. The mayor of Paris took advantage of this Bordeaux meeting to attack Marine Le Pen and Éric Zemmour head-on. “The far right has slavishly relayed Putin’s propaganda for years”, says Anne Hidalgo. “Marine Le Pen today softly condemns the action that she had not foreseen, carried out by the one she had taken as a model”tackles the mayor of Paris.
The left is never on the side of the dictators: neither in Venezuela, nor in Syria, nor in Ukraine. – Anne Hidalgo, socialist candidate in the presidential election
She does not hesitate to also hit the rebellious candidate Jean-Luc Mélenchon, without naming it. “He reversed all the roles, presenting our adversaries as victims and the victims as adversaries. This was already the case in Syria, so enough is enough! The left is never on the side of dictators: neither in Venezuela, neither in Syria nor in Ukraine. It is always against the dictators and with the peoples. The presidency of the Republic imposes another dignity”denounces Anne Hidalgo to applause.