the essential
Eric Ciotti’s coup, and his outstretched hand to the RN, disrupts the plans of the Republicans in Lot-et-Garonne. State of play of potential candidates, in the midst of disaster…
Christine Bonfantri-Dossar is in the Senate on June 11, 2024. And she is not happy. The announcement of the rallying of the president of the Republicans Eric Ciotti to the National Rally (in fact he wants an RN/LR alliance for the legislative elections of June 30 and July 7), this stone thrown into the pond brought out the parliamentary lot-and- Garonnaise from its hinges. “We are not going to make connections with anyone! I have held republican convictions for too long to waste them in sordid alliances…”, she blurted. Beyond the heartache aroused in Christine Bonfanti-Dossat by the about-face of the president of LR, this new twist of theater confuses the cards: the names of the candidates for the legislative elections in Lot-et-Garonne were found (with difficulty), but the idea of an alliance with the RN has cooled ambitions… Patatras.
“Neither RN, nor New Popular Front”
“The announcement of an alliance with the RN does us a lot of harm, protests the outspoken senator. Eric Ciotti is very bold. He is even cheeky! I am part of the political office of the Republicans, I am in Paris like so many others, and we were not even consulted, I am very angry, faced with a man who made a decision alone, ultimately to ensure his own re-election in Nice where he is in difficulty. our party does not allow her to make a decision like that. She despises activists, she despises parliamentarians.
Here’s for the form, as for the substance… “We are the heirs of Gaullism, adds the senator from Lot-et-Garonne, and we have a political line: no alliance with the RN, nor with the left that she called Nupes or New Popular Front. I no longer recognize myself in the party. Before, in the RPR, we were all companions.
“The ambient bazaar”
A self-confessed Sarkozist, Christine Bonfanti-Dossat has for several years been following the line defended by Laurent Wauquiez, whom she dreams of one day seeing lead France. The latter was also supposed to go to Lot-et-Garonne, but “the surrounding mess, and I’m polite…”, as LR47 boss Gaétan Malange indicates, forced Laurent Wauquiez to cancel his trip.
What is the current situation of the historic right, before the submission of applications to the Agen prefecture (at the latest on Sunday at 6 p.m.)? According to our sources, in the first constituency (Agen-Nérac), Louis de Cacqueray would be up for LR. Coming from a well-known family in Agen, involved in politics for a long time, the young man is close to… Laurent Wauquiez and currently an advisor to the LR group of the National Assembly. He would be associated with Agen’s first deputy Clémence Brandolin-Robert (although the latter was shocked by Eric Ciotti’s announcements, so her decision remains pending). In the second constituency, departmental councilor Julie Castillo (from the canton of Forêts de Gascogne) was contacted, but ultimately declined the proposal. Here, LR voters would be left to their own devices…
Guillaume Lepers is waiting…
Finally, in the 3rd constituency, the mayor of Fumel and former LR deputy Jean-Louis Costes clarified his position on June 11 on social networks: “In June 2022, as departmental president of the Les Républicains movement, it was up to me to go in combat I considered that when circumstances are not favorable, it is up to the leader to set an example and go there. Today, detached from my partisan commitments, I wish to devote myself completely to my mandate as mayor. of Fumel. So I will not be a candidate in the legislative elections.” This message highlights the bitterness of the ousted former LR boss, as well as his recommendation: to local officials to take their… responsibilities.
On the 3rd, all eyes are on the mayor of Villeneuve-sur-Lot. Elected LR, main opponent of the left in the departmental council, Guillaume Lepers (close to Aurélien Pradié) is waiting. “What would he have to gain in a defeat?” asks a Villeneuvois. Surprising question: there is indeed a seat to be filled at the Palais Bourbon. And then losing by asserting yourself as an elected official armed with convictions, isn’t that laudable under the Republic? “Our elected officials will make up their minds,” says Senator Bonfanti-Dossat. “But I prefer to fight for our values. And if I don’t win, at least I lose with honors.” Note that Guillaume Lepers will gather his troops tomorrow afternoon in Villeneuve, to explain his choice.
