It is the great return of the former President of the Republic. François Hollande was placed at the head of the first round of the legislative elections for the first constituency of Corrèze with 37.63%, ahead of RN candidate Maïtey Pouget (30.89%) and Francis Dubois, LR (not Ciotti) with 28. 64% of the votes.
This Sunday evening, June 30, a little after 8 p.m., at the Auzelou room in Tulle, in the HQ of the New Popular Front, where around thirty activists, with closed faces, gathered, the first national results, broadcast on a giant screen, were greeted in stunned silence.
On stage, on which a lectern already sits, in a sober wooden decor, projectors shed a pink light. The activists are shot dead. Barely a few applause accompanied the statement broadcast on television by Jean-Luc Mélenchon: “In accordance with our principles, we will withdraw our candidates who came in third place.”
A call to republican rally
Placed at the head of the first round of the legislative elections for the first constituency of Corrèze with 37.63%, the candidate of the New Popular Front, François Hollande, serious expression and black suit and tie, arrived around 9:10 p.m., for a speech , without any notes. “I must be among the personalities who reassure” insisted François Hollande
The former president first made an observation. “Have you seen the statements that have already been made this evening, as if Mrs. Le Pen and Mr. Bardella were already at the top of the State. The President of the Republic seems effaced. The majority is in tatters. Who can assume the major role of defending the ideas of the Republic, the strength of the commitments of previous generations for social conquests and for fundamental rights? Who other than us in this constituency and many in the country? We are aware that the primary objective is to prevent the extreme right from winning these legislative elections. So, we must be aware of the necessary rallies, not only that of the left.”
“The challenge is to bring together all those who identify with the values of the Republic.”
Francois Hollande (empty)
A matter of conscience
In this logic, the former president sent a message to Francis Dubois, the LR candidate (not Ciotti) who came in third position with 28.64% of votes, who decided to remain in the second round.
“What matters is not what the general staffs will decide, here and there, but it is the voters. I served as head of state. There was a time when It must be a matter of conscience, as far as I am concerned, as a public man and even a private man, one who is aware of what a victory for the National Rally would represent, I think that withdrawals must be automatic. everyone will do as they wish.”
The memory of Jacques-Chirac
François Hollande insisted: “I don’t think that Mr. Dubois’ voters will turn to the extreme right. I know what the memory and the memory of Jacques Chirac represent, particularly in this department and in this constituency. I know that Mr. Dubois is a man who claimed to be Jacques Chirac’s follower. I want to believe, I am even sure that his voters will repeat their suffering if there is a continuation of the candidacy and will even go as far as supporting me to the majority necessary to become a deputy.”
“We need to reassure”
What will be the line of conduct of the candidate of the New Popular Front in the coming weeks?
“Today, we need to be reassured, given what happened on the evening of this first round. Many are wondering: “What is going to happen?” I must be among the personalities who must reassure. Whatever happens, we will be there. We will be there in an Assembly to advance progress, if it is the left that is in a position of strength. We will be there, if it is the extreme right that must be at such a level that it could claim power. We will be there, even if there was no majority.”
“We will be there to find solutions to this crisis which was caused by the President of the Republic and which must be resolved through the intervention of French women and men, through their vote.”
Francois Hollande (empty)
No equivalence possible
François Hollande repeated it forcefully. “I do not make an equivalence between the extreme right and LFI. I have had enough disagreements with LFI. I know what I should think of Jean-Luc Mélenchon and the reverse is true. But, I know that there is no equivalence between the candidacy of a xenophobic party and the candidacy of a party that has its sensitivity, that has made some statements that have offended me. That is no longer the subject. It is not LFI that will be in the majority in the second round of the legislative elections. Nobody imagines it. Let’s stop making it a threat, when the only one that exists is the extreme right.”
LIVE – Facing François Hollande, in Corrèze, the LR candidate announces that he will remain in the 2nd round
Dragan Perovic
