This Wednesday afternoon, Édouard Philippe, former Prime Minister, went to Nîmes to support the Horizons party candidates in view of the early legislative elections on June 30 and July 7.
In Gard, two Horizons candidates are in the running: Sophie Pellegrin-Ponsole (2nd constituency) and Christian Baume (3rd constituency). The meeting was held in the garden of chef Jérôme Nutile’s restaurant, at Mas de Boudan, in the presence of Yvan Lachaud, departmental delegate of Horizons in Gard. “It is a real pleasure to welcome Édouard Philippe today,” declared Yvan Lachaud, also emphasizing the presence of the candidates from Renaissance, Valérie Rouverand and Nadia El Okki, and Aurélien Colson from Modem, candidate on the 6th constituency of Gard.
A “short” and “intense” campaign
“It’s an extremely short campaign,” admitted Édouard Philippe in his introduction. After a series of trips across France, from Seine-Maritime to Haute-Marne, via Meurthe-et-Moselle and Gironde, and before a trip to Hérault this Wednesday evening and then to Haute-Garonne tomorrow, he admitted: “It’s an intense campaign.”
Despite its intensity and brevity, the stakes are, according to him, decisive. “That is why we must set out as clearly as possible what the candidates are proposing,” he said.
A broader coalition for a more stable majority
Faced with the challenges, he assures: “We are not simply proposing the reconstruction of a presidential majority, but we wish to broaden this political base, to nourish a broader political space, in order to have a more solid, more stable and more open majority. .” He thus launched a call for a broader coalition, “from the conservative right to the social democratic left”. The institutions of the Fifth Republic provide for a parliamentary regime, “I intend to make them work”, he added.
Concerning the potential duels in the second round of the legislative elections between the National Rally (RN) and the New Ecological and Social Popular Union (NUPES), he was categorical: no question of announcing support before the time. “The second round will start after the first,” he said with a touch of irony. “I don’t know how to win an election, but I know how to lose it: by talking about a second round before having passed the first,” he added. “The idea that the French would only have the choice between the National Rally and its supporters and LFI and its allies is unbearable. We must therefore offer them an alternative, and this is found in the central bloc that I “I’m just trying to build.”
The Gard candidates are “convinced” and “courageous”
Addressing voters in Gard, Édouard Philippe criticized the fluctuating proposals of the National Rally. “A good part of the RN’s proposals will not produce the expected effects. Their positions are constantly changing: they wanted to leave the EU, this is no longer the case; to leave NATO, this is no longer the case; their position on pension reform is vague. They wanted to return to a retirement age of 62, but this seems to have changed,” he observed, referring to the televised debate between Jordan Bardella and Manuel Bompard broadcast this Tuesday, June 25 on TF1 and LCI.
To conclude, Édouard Philippe praised the commitment of the Gard candidates. “There is an enthusiasm that must be measured. In the Gard in particular, where the National Rally has won positions in 2022, those who present here are convinced. They know that it is a difficult fight and they intend to fight it I have enormous respect for those who fight for their ideas. I believe that this is where the greatest strength of the Gard candidates lies. Their courage, their courage and their enthusiasm are undoubtedly theirs. main quality, it is not the easiest position, but it is certainly the most honorable.”
