Louis de Raguenel with AFP
modified to
10:49 p.m., February 10, 2022
According to information from the political service of Europe 1, the LR mayor of Calais, Natacha Bouchart, joins Emmanuel Macron for the presidential election.
Natacha Bouchart, LR mayor of Calais, joins Emmanuel Macron for the presidential election, according to information from the political service of Europe 1. His former chief of staff Antoine Diers, chose to join Éric Zemmour. He is now the deputy campaign director of the far-right polemicist.
information @Europe1@NatachaBouchart mayor LR of Calais joined @EmmanuelMacron
— Louis de Raguenel (@LouisDeRaguenel) February 10, 2022
Confirming information from the political service of Europe 1, Natacha Bouchart announced her support for Emmanuel Macron in an interview with Figaro. “I want Emmanuel Macron to be re-elected, I believe he has the greatest capacity to win the next presidential election,” said Ms. Bouchart, saying she wanted to “continue to work with this government”.
“I approach this presidential election without partisanship but only through the general interest of Calais, a city permanently exposed”, she added, assuring that it was not a “choice against Valérie Pécresse”, his party’s candidate for the April election.
“Support” in the face of the difficulty of migration management
“Since 2017, we have found attentive listening and support from the president with actions in the face of the difficulty of migration management”, further justified Ms. Bouchart, mayor since 2008 of the port city and close to Nicolas Sarkozy. “I can attest that on this level that the Minister of the Interior Gérald Darmanin has always been present. We had the reinforcements we requested in September. The dismantling continues to be carried out”, she said. boasted.
This rallying is a new stone in the garden of Ms. Pécresse, who suffered the defection of deputy and former minister Eric Woerth on Wednesday before a big meeting on Sunday in Paris. “It’s not shooting at an ambulance to make a decision. I know I’m going to disappoint some people but I want to be clear with the activists,” explained Ms. Bouchart.
The city councilor, however, said she hoped not to be excluded from her party, of which she recalls being “member since 1979”. “I have no intention of joining the Republic on the march,” she insisted.