Between the Republican candidate for the Elysée and the former boss of the party, it was never great love. Laurent Wauquiez will however welcome Valérie Pécresse on Friday January 21 in his city of Puy-en-Velay. A rally without enthusiasm.
François Fillon had finished his campaign in 2017 at the foot of the cathedral of Notre-Dame du Puy-en-Velay. Five years later, Valérie Pécresse decided to make the pilgrimage at the start of the campaign. Difficult to know if the inevitable passage in front of the Black Madonna will bring luck to the candidate of the Republicans. In the short term, the purpose of the trip is first to seal his reconciliation with the master of the place: Laurent Wauquiez, long mayor of the city-prefecture of Haute-Loire, powerful boss of the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region, former boss of the Republicans who has kept and even amplified his power of influence on the right.
Their reunion on Friday morning will be scrutinized. In Puy, Valérie Pécresse ends her tour of France of the “feathered hats” of the right to convince them to join her cause. After her four musketeers (Eric Ciotti, Michel Barnier, Xavier Bertrand and Philippe Juvin) whom she visited, the candidate made the trip to Meaux with Jean-François Copé, then to Troyes with François Baroin and with the Alsatian Jean Rottner . Without counting a small detour by the offices of Nicolas Sarkozy. But it is, of course, with Laurent Wauquiez that the task is the most complicated. The dispute between them is old and deep. The ex-boss of LR never digested the guerrilla warfare led by the elected representative of Yvelines, a real opponent from the inside and apostle of a political line less to the right. It will also slam, oddly and against time, the door of the party at the time of the resignation of Laurent Wauquiez a week after the European elections.
Long icy, their relations warmed after his victory at the LR congress. Folded up on his Aventin rhône-alpin, Laurent Wauquiez made himself desired. After pulling the strings in vain for Michel Barnier against Valérie Pécresse, he surrendered and admitted the victory of his rival. Younger than her (note, he is 46, she is 54), the former minister of Nicolas Sarkozy has chosen the long term. Did he have a choice as his image is damaged? Sensitive to the ultra-conservative discourse of Eric Zemmour, he finally opted for clear support for Valérie Pécresse. Perhaps he is banking on the failure of his rival in 2022 to pick up the slack in 2027 at the head of a right-wing party extended to the friends of Zemmour? Conversely, in case of victory, the experienced Wauquiez will be essential. No more speculation, assure his relatives. An elected representative from the region points out that Wauquiez waited to see how the start of the campaign was going to decide on his position: “Valérie is in shock. His chances of victory are slim but those of Zemmour non-existent. So he decided. »
“Friday at Le Puy, it will be clean and professional. This will not prevent ulterior motives but Laurent will not play against his camp, ”promises those around him. Of course, there is no affect between them and it will be a half-hearted rally. The day’s program includes a visit to a nursing home, a Republican lunch and a visit to the cathedral.
No question for Laurent Wauquiez to be caught in the act of false support. “The covert support for Zemmour is false. No one close to Laurent will join him, ”insists an adviser from Wauquiez. As for Gilles Platret, mayor of Chalon-sur-Saône and spokesperson for LR, who is said to be able to join the candidacy of the former journalist from Le Figaro, he is “more Sarkozyist than Wauquiezist” corrects a friend of the ‘Auvergne. In the meantime, Laurent Wauquiez co-chairs the support committees for local elected officials. A job that allows him to support the candidate without setting foot or so little at campaign headquarters in Paris.
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