After nearly 3 months of electoral campaigning, even though some candidates had gained a slight lead, Republican activists, their allies, and more or less interested supporters, turned out in large numbers to the 10,228 polling stations to express their choice of the right-wing candidate for the 2017 presidential election.
The significance of this election is clear to everyone: it is no more and no less about choosing the one who will, barring any major surprise, be the future president of the Republic!
The first figure that stands out is that of participation: more than 4 million voters showed up. Once again, the polls were wrong: a Juppé-Sarkozy duel was expected, but we will have a “final” between Fillon (starting with a score of 44%) and Juppé (stuck at 28%).
The big loser is therefore Nicolas Sarkozy (barely over 20%), who failed in his political comeback: after taking control of the party in 2014, his revenge will ultimately not take place.
Even in the Alpes-Maritimes where he is practically at home, François Fillon beats Nicolas Sarkozy (38% to 35%); It’s in Cannes that he obtains his best score, indicating that Mayor David Lisnard, who, being the delegate for the organization, did not disclose his preference, worked effectively behind the scenes.
The surprise of this election comes from the fact that in all departments, except those in the Southwest loyal to Alain Juppé, Sarkozy’s former “collaborator” came out on top. Only Corsica opted for Nicolas Sarkozy.
François Fillon had the support of a large portion of the economic world, attracted by his strongly liberal economic discourse. Let’s now look at the political landscape: who will benefit for having chosen the right candidate, and who, on the other hand, will be penalized for the wrong choice of the losers?
It is known that Republicans in the department under the leadership of Christian Estrosi and Eric Ciotti are rooted in the Sarkozyist movement,
Among the heavyweights, only Jean Leonetti declared his support for Alain Juppé, while no notable figures had publicly supported François Fillon. His only visit to Nice during the electoral campaign was a lunch organized by businessman Gilbert Stellardo, with Nice elected officials Bernard Asso and Gilles Veissière present.
Nicolas Sarkozy’s defeat has shaken Christian Estrosi, who thus loses the guiding light of his political action: “In his successes as in his failures, my friendship has never failed him. I do not intend to renounce my values.“
For the second round, he keeps his hands free: “It is on this battle, the restoration of the State, the recovery of the economy that @FrancoisFillon & @alainjuppe must make strong commitments” he tweeted in language worthy of Vatican diplomacy.
In the second round, the votes will count double. Everything will therefore depend on the negotiations and agreements that will take place from today and on Thursday’s debate.
Eric Ciotti, who was one of Nicolas Sarkozy’s two campaign spokespeople, is more pragmatic: a swift farewell “Thank you to @NicolasSarkozy for the campaign he led for France” and he has thrown his weight behind the great favorite: “I will vote for @FrancoisFillon in the second round and I call for a wide mobilization around his candidacy“.
Is there still time for him to recover with the probable future president of the Republic the ministerial post he had practically secured if the former president had returned to the Élysée?
To be continued…
