Christian Estrosi, the LR mayor of Nice, and Arnaud Robinet, the LR mayor of Reims, have publicly called for a vote for the Les Républicains list, led by candidate François-Xavier Bellamy.
A statement made just weeks before the European elections and after months of distancing from their political family: “With just weeks to go before a crucial election for France’s role in Europe, we will vote in favor of the Les Républicains list in the European elections.”
This is followed by lengthy and polished explanations for this choice, the most political of which is: “We find ourselves in the diversity and coherence of the unifying list of the Les Républicains and centrists who will join the European People’s Party tomorrow, the only group capable of forming a stable majority in the face of populists, whose voices will be amplified by the proportional voting system.”
Without doubting for a moment the sincerity of their words, it is quite understandable that just weeks (or months) before the municipal nominations, it is wiser to appear orthodox in their choices rather than give grounds for accusations of dissent and thus justify other candidacies?
Europe is important, but when you are a mayor, you must first think about safeguarding your position!
