He had come to Nice in January when he was only the fourth man or the third behind the Sarkozy-Royal duo. François Bayrou, the UDF candidate in the presidential election, made another trip, in the middle of his tour of France, on Thursday, March 15, to the Azurean capital, welcomed by the UDF deputy from Nice, Rudy Salles.
By late afternoon, the Bayrou escort stopped at the top of the Promenade des Anglais at the foot of the castle. A horde of journalists was waiting for him. Local, national, and international journalists. They formed an impenetrable scrum. Only François Bayrou managed adeptly to extricate himself to shake a few hands and chat with some surprised or delighted, but never displeased, passers-by. The photographers and cameramen were delighted. The press and radio journalists found it more difficult to carry out their profession.
François Bayrou then headed to Cours Saleya. He stopped at a few tables with the same actions as on the seaside. He tested his popularity. He was all smiles. A happy candidate with a tanned complexion. Mingling with the crowd currently went hand in hand with soaking up the sun. He continued his stroll to the café “Au Long Cours” where he gave a press conference. The usual topics were discussed. He called for a gathering of “all the democratic forces”. He was pleased with a poll that Friday where 61% of French people wanted a National Union government. Two-thirds of the French thus legitimized the Bayrou project. When asked about what he would do if he were not in the second round, he refused to imagine such a hypothesis: “It turns out I will not be defeated. I do not envision defeat.” His confidence was expressed by a tautology regarding his opposition to Ségolène Royal and Nicolas Sarkozy: “I intend to outperform one in the first round and defeat the other in the second.”
In terms of rhetoric, the Béarn candidate’s most used terms revolve around change: “The goal is to change our republic”. He does not mention the Sixth Republic: “The matter of numbering is a secondary affair”. He mainly wants to change the alternation. For him, 2007 is a key year: “we are at the end of a political cycle that began in 1981. It’s the end of the Mitterrand-Chirac cycle and that of their respective parties, and I, and the French also, do not want us to go around on the merry-go-round again.” He soberly comments on the summoning of Jacques Chirac to court in June as “an awkward situation” while rejoicing in the separation of powers.
