Everything started off well. At the invitation of the UMP of the Alpes-Maritimes, a conference-debate was scheduled to take place this Saturday, December 8, in the panoramic lounges of the Hôtel Aston in Nice. It was set to focus on the book written by LCI journalist Christine Kelly, dedicated to the Prime Minister: “François Fillon, the Secret and the Ambition.” At the appointed time, in front of a small crowd of around a hundred people and alongside the President of the General Council, Christian Estrosi, the star presenter appeared—an exquisitely beautiful figure, seemingly straight from the islands—who took her place on stage.
While praising the quality of the book in his brief introduction, Christian Estrosi mentioned that he was “taking risks as a Minister” by presenting a book about the head of a government he belongs to. “Complicity, loyalty, friendship” were the concepts used by the mayoral candidate of Nice to describe his relationship with François Fillon. As for the book’s content, Christian Estrosi stated he “completely related to it.”
Christine Kelly then took the floor. Possibly more accustomed to the hushed environments of television studios, the journalist struggled to capture the attention of her general audience. In a monotone and lullaby-soft voice, she tried to explain her interest in the Prime Minister as a subject. To no avail. It discouraged an older couple of sympathizers who, barely arrived, were wondering how to escape this trap. “We’ll have to take advantage of the next crowd movement,” they whispered to each other, thinking their voices were low.
“Nothing has been written about him,” her potential editor told her one day, referring to the Prime Minister. Yet she noted, “over fifty books have been written about President Sarkozy.” She then recounted her “six long months of waiting” for an appointment with François Fillon’s entourage. A man “secretive, discreet, and private.” She decided, like the judiciary, to move to the department of Sarthe, his electoral stronghold. There she met “his teacher” and “his middle school professor,” “friends and neighbors,” she specified, who “all loved him.” By persistently questioning everyone, her inquiries eventually reached the ears of Matignon, earning her a first meeting with the head of the Government.
Aside from the facts, “too often forgotten,” the presenter disclosed that he “was behind President Chirac’s 2002 presidential program,” that “his relationship with Nicolas Sarkozy began in 2005,” and that “his greatest political wound was his defeat in the 2004 regional elections.” However, despite this avalanche of revelations, one was still left unsatisfied. Rather than a conference, it was an accumulation of anecdotes without much interest, seeming to exclude any in-depth political analysis of the calm Prime Minister under the hyperactive President.
Moreover, it was difficult to recommend reading a book that wasn’t distributed in the press before the conference. The publisher hadn’t brought it along, and the representative from the Nice bookstore—whose name will remain unmentioned out of decency—charged with its promotion, was as pleasant as a prison door.
Finally, according to Christine Kelly, it seems that in the mountains, “François Fillon doesn’t like people to walk ahead of him.” In the city, he must therefore suffer greatly.
