Victor Chabert
While the young people and executives of the Republicans are gathered in Angers for the summer school, the future of the party and the question of its future presidency are on everyone’s mind. If Aurélien Pradié has not yet declared himself a candidate, members are starting to make their choices between Éric Ciotti and Bruno Retailleau.
This weekend is back to school for the Republicans. More than 700 young people and all the executives of the Republicans are gathered in Angers. After a year of electoral debacle, we must think about the future. The right thus opens its summer universities, but in reality, it is the congress for the presidency of the party which occupies the spirits.
Two distant personalities
In the room, two names are on everyone’s lips: Éric Ciotti and Bruno Retailleau. The president of the LR group in the Senate formalized his candidacy at the end of the week and will therefore face the deputy of the Alpes-Maritimes to take the lead of the party. Aurélien Pradié, secretary general of the party should also declare himself in a few days. But the match is really played between the senator of Vendée and the finalist of the primary. Alice, she has made her choice, it is Bruno Retailleau. “As chairman of the Republican group in the Senate, he is very unifying of all sides of the right that may be present within the Republicans.”
For this young activist, it will be Eric Ciotti “because he has the courage to say things. I think his political line is the one most expected by the French.” So the two men promise to rebuild the right, their political lines are not so far apart. But it is a question of personality that separates them. For some executives, only one thing must now take precedence: avoid a psychodrama.