in Paris, a surrealist war between Rachida Dati, Gilles Le Gendre and LR

Fan idol of the macronie – “since 2016”, he deliberately recalls –, the Renaissance deputy Gilles Le Gendre had the sensation of a cold shower when he discovered that his name did not appear on the list of investitures of the executive office of his party for these legislative elections. The management in fact preferred Jean Laussucq, unknown to the battalion, who for him was an advisor to Paris and above all deputy to Rachida Dati, formidable mayor of 7^e Parisian district.

“No one told me anything, I discovered the news during a meeting with activists,” sighs Gilles Le Gendre, who sees in this betrayal of his political family the obvious signature of the current Minister of Culture , Rachida Dati, who seeks to expand her area of ​​influence. “She has a tribal vision of politics, she only thinks about the municipal elections of 2026,” annoys the ex-MP, who considers it inconceivable to have chosen a candidate from the LR ranks to his detriment.

READ ALSO 2024 Legislative Elections: Alliances and Dissidences… Tour de France of CandidatesNever mind: the parliamentarian in the campaign is struggling to regain his seat. That day, in front of the Lutetia, a large Parisian hotel, the elected official distributed leaflets to anyone who came to question him.

A member of the majority sees “a wound of pride” in this desire to go all the way. According to him, Gilles Le Gendre had already been sidelined by his political family even before the dissolution. “He told everyone that 2022 was his last term, so no one expected to see him leave again,” explains the same person.

Support from several majority executives

In this constituency, the second in Paris, the issue is in the center right of the political spectrum. Between Gilles Le Gendre, Jean Laussucq and Félicité Herzog, the Republican candidate, tension is high to know who, of these three right-wing shades, will advance to the second round against, probably, the New Popular Front candidate, Marine Rosset .

Determined not to give up, Gilles Le Gendre therefore launched himself “freely”, in dissent from his party. “I am the outgoing one, I am the only one capable of ensuring maintenance in the majority,” the ex-MP wants to believe. “You need an original Macronist, which I am,” to rally as many people as possible in the second round.

READ ALSO Legislative: in Paris, the war of the rightsAt Renaissance, despite this non-inauguration which surprised more than one, many saw him as the providential man of the constituency. Several heavyweights, such as the former President of the Assembly Richard Ferrand, his successor Yaël Braun-Pivet, the former ministers Florence Parly and Agnès Buzyn, have come or plan to come to tow alongside the dissident candidate.

But, on the ground, the bet is not won in advance. “We don’t understand anything”, “I don’t know what to think anymore”, “too many different labels”, complain several passers-by, looking at the leaflets with a dissatisfied air. Doubts and questions that the candidate’s teams strive to dispel as best they can. According to them, the strategy is simple: to make a difference, you have to mobilize and occupy the ground. “There is a renewed attention to Gilles, this creates a feeling of attachment,” wants to believe Rohman Boumlih, former parliamentary attaché. “On the loops, there are more than 120 of us, it’s unheard of,” even the young man is positive.

So, when Jean Laussucq activists cross the sidewalk and arrive barely a few meters from the outgoing MP’s team to tow in front of it, the ex-collaborator plays the pacifist. “We don’t care about them, we have blinders on and we work on our campaign. » Listening to him, no one talks about the betrayal, not even Gilles Le Gendre, who even says he is ready to sit with Renaissance in the event of re-election. “All of this will have been nothing but adventures, I am more part of the family than the person in charge opposite me,” slips the candidate, not without malice.

Thug methods.An advisor to Félicité Herzog, Les Républicains candidate

Those close to Jean Laussucq assume responsibility. “The executive office invested it knowingly, the leaders decided, Rachida did nothing,” sweeps away one of the activists, annoyed to see the other campaign teams talking so much about the boss of 7^e borough. “We are campaigning on the majority’s program, but with local colors,” he euphemizes with a smile.

However, this Saturday, on the Maubert market, the posture is going badly. With Félicité Herzog, Les Républicains candidate, the tone even rose in the face of provocations from a Jean Laussucq activist. “You don’t have the right to tow here,” calls out the latter. “It’s Rachida Dati-style intimidation,” retorts Félicité Herzog, who publishes the scene on her social networks a few minutes later. “Laussucq, it’s just Dati’s puppet, he didn’t even shake my hand,” regrets the person concerned. A shame, denounces the (newly) Macronist candidate. “It is our activists who are being attacked, not the other way around. ” Atmosphere.

READ ALSO Municipal elections in Paris: Rachida Dati favorite, Anne Hidalgo left behind, according to a surveyBut the defense of the former member of the Republicans rings hollow in the constituency. For two weeks, everyone has paid the price on the ground for the “dateists” and their aggressiveness. “These are thug methods,” even an advisor to Félicité Herzog scolds. Having come to lend a hand, the latter is surprised but satisfied to see the Minister of Culture and her protégé so feverish. “She understands the danger. If his candidate is ever beaten, it will be a disavowal,” he predicts.

The barons of the right as reinforcements

Despite her outsider posture, Félicité Herzog, writer and director of strategy and innovation at Vivendi, is no less closely scrutinized. “With Le Gendre, everything is courteous, but with Laussucq, it’s different. Even the NFP is more cordial,” quips the candidate.

Gathering the support of several barons of the right, still bruised by the personal adventure of Dati – excluded from the Republicans after joining Emmanuel Macron –, such as François Baroin, Gérard Larcher, François-Xavier Bellamy or even Valérie Pécresse, the candidate there sees a mouse hole to access the second round. “My candidacy is a bit sacrificial, I only have blows to take, but I cannot sit idly by,” confides this political novice.

Press bosses threatened

“She is not even officially invested by the party,” scathes Jean Laussucq. Voters should make no mistake, there is no LR candidate in the constituency. » “Everything is done in agreement with the party leadership,” contradicts Félicité Herzog, who admits to not being officially invested for purely administrative reasons due to recent events within the LR leadership. “It’s a detail, voters don’t look at that,” says the candidate, surprised to see such an argument coming from an LR defector…

Jean Laussucq candidate avoids controversies. “Now is not the time for procrastination, it is time for unity and the union of all Republicans and Democrats,” he said, in the face of “a united left.”

With all these quarrels on the right, we almost forgot that the left was present. In 2022, however, she reached the second round. Considering its divisions, not sure that the “central bloc” and beyond remembers it…