Michel Rocard and now Bernard Kouchner suggest a UDF/PS alliance to counter Nicolas Sarkozy’s UMP. What are your feelings on this?
Michel Rocard and Bernard Kouchner are highly respectable figures who, like François Bayrou, acknowledge that old divisions are outdated. They also believe that Ms. Royal’s candidacy is certainly not in a position to win the second round, whereas all polls show François Bayrou winning handsomely against both Ségolène Royal and Nicolas Sarkozy. The fact that François Bayrou proposed a broad national union, respecting everyone’s convictions and the fact that the UDF candidate’s program is inspired by social democracy and humanism, allows them to propose an immediate union. It’s the expression of a modern left against those who still want to wage trench warfare between an archaic left and a hard right. I interpret these messages as follows: the practical vote from the first round is François Bayrou.
While it might be hard to imagine nationally, do you think a UDF/PS union is possible locally?
In Nice, the situation is special. The Mayor of Nice comes from the National Front and has never really left it. The next municipal administration must unite the people of Nice, not divide them as is happening today. When I see the atmosphere at the City Council where the opposition is regularly insulted, I condemn these methods which give a very poor image of our city.
What do you say to the Socialists who categorize the UDF as a right-wing party?
Ms. Royal calls us right-wing, Nicolas Sarkozy labeled us right-wing two months ago and now places us on the left. In fact, we are at the center! I feel that everyone is losing their bearings.
Polls have been regularly contradictory in recent days. What would be your analysis 6 days before the first round?
Polls can no longer measure what is happening, and everyone agrees on this. Even the press has stopped its excessive exploitation of them in recent days. I think the three main candidates are currently “neck and neck.” I predict that François Bayrou will qualify for the second round next Sunday.
If, in the second round, Ségolène Royal and Nicolas Sarkozy were facing each other, what would be the position of the UDF and Rudy Salles?
With François Bayrou we are campaigning to win. Therefore, I’m sorry to disappoint you but I will not answer your question.
Finally, what will Rudy Salles’ schedule be until Sunday?
Very busy. On the ground, continuing to inform and persuade my fellow citizens. We will have distributed 200,000 programs of François Bayrou in 15 days. I will also be at the meeting in Bercy on Wednesday evening and at the one closing the campaign in the Zénith de Pau in Béarn on Thursday evening. I will continue campaigning in Nice on Friday and Saturday. I will vote on Sunday morning and tour the polling stations, then head to the campaign headquarters in Paris on Sunday evening.
