Certainly, we know the ties that have linked the Mayor of Nice to the National Front, which he joined in 1973 to be elected as a general councillor and then as a regional councillor under the banner of the blue, white, and red flame. However, this statement arises unexpectedly like a fly in the ointment of the presidential campaign just a few weeks before the national election. Even though Jacques Peyrat left the FN in 1995, it seems that old demons are resurfacing today, thus surprising his political adversaries and some members of his own majority.
Reactions were immediate, and the Azurean Young Socialists Movement even called on Minister Christian Estrosi through an open letter, asking the president of UMP 06 to react to these statements, placing Mr. Peyrat “outside the republican field, preferring xenophobic parties and advocating the rejection of others.” The same reaction came from Patrick Allemand, Socialist Vice President of the PACA Region, who denounced “a Frontist past about which Jacques Peyrat had been very discreet these last few years, which could be an indicator of a change in strategy.”
Thus, we wonder about this new tirade from the tenor of the Nice city hall: Will he be an FN candidate in the next municipal elections? Is it a ploy to increase pressure in the ranks of the local UMP? Is it a new test to gauge his municipal team?
Only he surely knows why he uttered these words, which will not go unexplained in the coming days, and Nice Premium wanted to get the opinion of UMP deputy Muriel Marland Militello and PS city and general councillor Patrick Mottard, who give us their views on this position they are far from sharing.
Nice Première: How did you react to Jacques Peyrat’s comments regarding Le Pen?
Muriel Marland Militello: Mr. Peyrat’s views on Mr. Le Pen are his own. Furthermore, personal local ambitions do not currently interest me. What matters now is the presidential election to give France a responsible President and a parliamentary majority to govern. Nicolas Sarkozy, in my eyes, is our best candidate at the UMP. A majority of the republican right and center will be necessary for him to realize the innovative projects he proposes to the French for the greater good of our country. That is what should currently be the focus of every elected UMP member.
NP: As a UMP Deputy, what do you expect from your party following these statements?
MMM: I expect my party to respect the humanist and republican values it stands for and to which I adhere. Therefore, I rely on the UMP to invest a candidate who both respects these values and is best placed to defeat the left-wing candidates in the municipals.
NP: Will you ask Christian Estrosi for explanations on this issue?
MMM: I trust Christian Estrosi to determine based on the interest of the republican right, my city, and my department. As President of the General Council of the Alpes-Maritimes and as Minister, he has excellently assumed the responsibilities that are his. And, he is also a dynamic, unifying, and always concerned President of the departmental UMP.
NP: Finally, do you think this maneuver disguises a Peyrat FN candidacy in the upcoming municipals?
MMM: Announcements, professions of faith, or blackmail performed more than a year before the elections have, in my eyes, absolutely no significance. I have heard so much and its contrary that I pay no attention to these maneuvers, which should impress no one.
Nice Premium: Patrick Mottard, what do you think about Jacques Peyrat’s choice in the second round of the Presidential elections in the case where the FN and the PS find themselves head-to-head?
Patrick Mottard: It’s a SCANDAL! In 2002, the left voted as one man for Chirac against Le Pen.
Today, the UMP mayor of the fifth city of France casually announces that he will not return the favor in a symmetric situation.
NP: In your opinion, what pushed the Mayor of Nice to make this choice?
PM: You can’t escape your nature; it always comes back! That said, this statement is not a surprise for me, who witnesses, council after council, the collusion between the FN and the municipal majority.
NP: Could we imagine a Jacques Peyrat candidacy under the colors of the FN in the next municipal elections in Nice?
PM: One can always imagine. But perhaps he is not as foolish as that. He could very well be content with the withdrawal and the votes of the FN in the second round.
NP: What do you think the UMP should do in response to this type of statement?
PM: Exclusion. It’s a question of credibility for this formation if it still wants to be considered republican.
NP: Will you call out elected officials from both the right and the left on this issue?
PM: Those from the right mainly (as they are the ones concerned). For me, there will be a before and after the interview. Count on me.
NP: The next city council meeting is likely to be quite lively, isn’t it?
PM: Possible. In any case, the question will be raised. We will demand an explanation.
NP: Finally, what would Patrick Mottard say to Jacques Peyrat?
PM: He would tell him that you don’t play with the values of the Republic unless you are not republican yourself. But this remark would probably make him laugh…
