“Nothing stops him. His indecency knows no bounds. » If he is not surprised, Jean-Louis Costes, mayor of Fumel and former UMP political adversary of Jérôme Cahuzac, is scandalized: “He may say that he has paid his legal debt, this is about morality. He still lied in front of all the representatives of the nation. For me, his candidacy is a calamity which gives credence to everything…
“Nothing stops him. His indecency knows no bounds. » If he is not surprised, Jean-Louis Costes, mayor of Fumel and former UMP political adversary of Jérôme Cahuzac, is scandalized: “He may say that he has paid his legal debt, this is about morality. He still lied in front of all the representatives of the nation. For me, his candidacy is a calamity which accredits everything rotten against the RN. »
If the man on the right vilifies the return of the former minister to the political scene, he does not neglect the weight of his candidacy in historical circumstances. Just like Olivier Damaisin, former March deputy for the third constituency, who describes him as “a candidate to be taken seriously”: “I am not naive. He still has a lot of support in Villeneuvois, even if it will be complicated for him. The population has changed and these are legislative elections, not municipal. But we must not neglect the phenomenon of nostalgia it arouses. “It was better before” is far from trivial. »
“By announcing his candidacy so quickly, he took everyone by surprise”
Because the former MP and minister will not fail to rely on his old record to mobilize votes. Like that of Daniel Borie, mayor of Saint-Vite and departmental councilor of the canton of Fumélois: “I am fully behind his candidacy for everything he did for the territory when he was a deputy. Even as a minister, he never forgot where he came from. He must now convince the younger generation, those who have not known him in practice. For this, Sophie Gargowitsch is the best asset. She is a young elected official, a mother, with an outspokenness appreciated in the Fumélois valley. She cut her teeth at La France insoumise, then moved to the Greens. Today, it counts politically on the territory. »
Unofficial support for Renaissance?
Didier Caminade, mayor of Cuzorn and president of the Fumel Vallée du Lot community of communes, also does not hide his affinities for the Cahuzac-Gargowitsch pair: “Jérôme Cahuzac is the only one who is ready and for good reason. Already, in January, against everyone’s opinion, he affirmed that a dissolution of the National Assembly would take place after the Europeans. By announcing his candidacy so quickly, he took everyone by surprise. The others have three weeks to establish a program, print posters and leaflets. Not to mention that they have to decide who is going to launch it and with what support… I imagine it’s a big hassle. »
Didier Caminade believes in it, especially since, according to him, “it will be difficult for the RN to get as many votes as for the last legislative elections. Cahuzac still has a lot of support in Villeneuvois and he has already faced this type of political wave. When Judge Bruguière ran against him, thanks to a blue wave [NDLR : en 2007], the latter had been largely beaten. Allying with Sophie ensures the territory of Fumélois. Just in this valley, who will we be able to put in front of it today? »
Could the Renaissance party avoid confrontation by considering it as part of the “republican field” against which a promise was made not to run a candidate? The hypothesis is plausible for the mayor of Cuzorn, just as for Thomas Bouyssonnie, who is applying for the candidacy of a union of the left: “He has a centrist profile and even if he has a sulfurous side, Macronie could decide to support it, says the departmental advisor. In any case, for me, it cannot enter the field of left-wing union. This is why we need a credible left-wing candidate, so that people on the left are not forced to vote for Cahuzac in the second round for the reasons we all know. »
