“I am here to lead my opposition to the right and to continue the unification of the left. The Socialist Party must be the driving force of the left in the next presidential elections.” It is a delighted and cheerful François Hollande who responded to the questions from the journalists of Nice Matin, AFP, France Bleu Azur, and the site Grasse à gauche.
When asked about Hollande’s candidacy, the party’s first secretary said he is waiting for October 3, which will be the deadline for the submission of candidacies for the primary election for the next presidential campaign. “It will be Ségolène Royal… or me, but it is out of the question for both of us to run.” This clarification reduces the number of possible candidacies that François Hollande hopes will be between two and three, although he admits he imagines rather four or five.
Jospin as a candidate? “He was a very good Prime Minister, but I think he should consider the question. However, I am convinced that his decision is made and that he will be a candidate.” This likely explains the number of candidacies envisaged by François Hollande, who does not reveal the other names, which might include Fabius, Strauss-Kahn, Lang. “The members will express their choices on November 16 and 23 to select their candidate, and I hope she, or he, will be the architect of the unification of the Socialist Party and the French left.”
Will Nice one day turn to the left? “It was a close call in 2001, but I believe that the city of Nice is ready to lean to the left. My mother lives in Nice, and I am there very often. When people tell me that Nice is a city of retirees, I say not only that, and this city deserves much better.” Following the presidential elections, the municipal ones will arrive, and François Hollande is not unaware of the situation in Nice, which is no less complicated than the one on the national level.
