“Valérie, it’s roots and wings”: in the presence of Gabriel Attal, Valérie Hayer, head of the presidential majority list, completed a grueling European campaign on her Mayenne lands, in Saint-Denis-d’Anjou , awaiting the results, feared by the Macron camp.
“Those who come from far away must have said to themselves: but what the hell are we going to do in south Mayenne, in a village of 1,500 inhabitants? (…) For me, this is where it all begins “, smiles the candidate.
After dozens of trips – she was in Nice on Thursday evening – Valérie Hayer wanted to end her campaign at home, under the hall of Saint-Denis-d’Anjou. A bucolic setting under a radiant sun, a few kilometers from his parents’ farm taken over by his brother and in the presence of several members of his family.
“Nothing predestined me to become a European deputy, then group president, then head of the list of the presidential majority. Nothing”, explains the Mayennaise, municipal councilor of her village at 21, elected to the European Parliament under the Macronist banner in 2019 , going so far as to take the presidency of the Renew group after Stéphane Séjourné entered the government.
The campaign was not a walk in the park. Unknown to the general public, launched into the deep end at the beginning of March after the refusal of many leading figures – Bruno Le Maire, Jean-Yves Le Drian in particular – to take up the torch, Valérie Hayer lived in fast-forward for three months.
Incessant travel, debates with the other heads of the list, negotiations, controversies, falling polls, “the pace is delirious”, underlines a minister.
“Doing politics is a lot of personal commitment. I thrive a lot and the French give me a lot. But it’s also sacrifices for the family and I wanted to thank you for always supporting me “, explains the candidate in front of her loved ones.
Gabriel Attal is also there, he who participated in six meetings alongside him. Even inviting herself by surprise into the Radio France auditorium where the MEP was interviewed on Monday.
-Monday in Brussels-
“We are proud to have the most talented, the most competent, the most serious, the most deeply passionate about Europe and its issues at the head of the list,” compliments the Prime Minister in front of a won over audience. “We are incredibly lucky to have Valérie as head of the list.”
“Valérie, in this campaign, it’s authenticity”, “roots and wings”, reiterates Gabriel Attal, who salutes the mobilization of the majority and the fact of having “always told the truth to the French” in this European campaign.
While the RN outrageously dominates the polls, while the majority is dangerously close behind that of Raphaël Glucksmann (PS-Place Publique), the Prime Minister “cannot believe” that France is sending “the first battalion of extreme right” in the European Parliament.
“The paradox is that even though we have never needed Europe so much, there is a risk that tomorrow, in the European Parliament, there will be people who hate Europe who arrive in number and which prevent us from working at your service. That’s why this election is important”, adds the head of the list.
After lunch in the market hall, the spirits relax. “Who will win? It’s Valérie Hayer,” chant the activists. Perky, Gabriel Attal’s office is trying a “Valérie, in Brussels, Bardella in the trash”.
The candidate and the Prime Minister briefly visit the church, then the village nursery school. There are a few hours left to campaign. For Gabriel Attal, return to Paris. For Valérie Hayer, head to Le Mans for a stroll, before a coffee debate in the village of Sainte-Cérotte (Sarthe) with ministers Marc Fesneau and Aurore Bergé.
Until midnight, the end of the official campaign, the candidate plans to go touring in Laval. The following ? “Saturday, I sleep!”, warns Valérie Hayer. But “no break”.
After election night on Sunday, perhaps a visit to the Élysée on Monday, the candidate plans to return to Brussels without delay. Many files await him, the delegation, the future distribution of key positions. Return to normal after an extraordinary quarter.
bpa/hr/fan
