Throughout her campaign, the candidate confided in her friend the writer Jean-Christophe Rufin. He does not see in her the “cold and disconnected” woman that is portrayed. Extracts.
To those who claim that she has become becalmed, she opposes her omnipresence on the ground. And his proverbial tenacity. In December, she seemed able to qualify for the second round of the presidential election. In the home stretch, the polls promise him 4th, even 5th place. To ward off criticism of her meeting performance, the “lady of doing” has forged a shell. Since they met fifteen years ago, Jean-Christophe Rufin has managed to see beyond appearances: Valérie Pécresse carries enough contradictions within her to resolve those of France.
From the outset, the academician compares candidate LR to the late Jean d’Ormesson. “Each time I meet Valérie Pécresse, the image of the writer, the friend, the colleague imposes itself, as if the deceased had just extended his great shadow over the woman I have in front of me. Obviously, nothing is comparable between them, neither the generation, nor the course, nor the sex. However, something deep unites them. They represent a form of French excellence. They embody the elites of this nation, their ancestral virtues, and seem to carry within them the legacy of centuries of history, tragedies and masterpieces. Above all, both are capable of an incredible openness to the diversity of cultures,” he confides. Even if he had known her for a long time, he confesses to having gone from “surprise to surprise” “First of all, this blonde is not Nordic: she is a pure Mediterranean woman. His true roots are Corsican by his mother and Provençal by his father, from a stock of peasants from the Hautes-Alpes. In this tribe, the hushed silence of the streets of Versailles does not reign. We shout, we laugh, we sing,” he wrote. “Valérie comes from a line of strong women. She is particularly influenced by her Corsican great-grandmother and her grandmother who was a pediatrician. It is a paradox, however, that these women. Their temperament leads them to authority, their intelligence would allow them to have great careers. But they most often resign themselves to remaining in the shadow of men. It is a role they take on voluntarily but which can confuse a teenager when it comes time to choose her life. Here is a second paradox: the one to whom we lend a straight course, a career traced in advance by her own qualities of intelligence and will, has experienced many hesitations and many personal and professional wanderings. Around the age of 15, she was even tempted to give up all effort and all ambition. The fighter we know today was first a shy, introverted child, uncomfortable in public.
Find the full portrait of Valérie Pécresse in issue 3804 of Paris Match.