The morning was sunny and the crowd was large.
In front of the assembly of elected officials in the Parliament and the Departmental Council, the mayors, and surrounded by legislative candidates, Eric Ciotti kicked off a campaign that will be important in more ways than one.
Indeed, after the presidential defeat, two perspectives open up for Les Républicains and for him: either obtaining an absolute majority in the National Assembly or achieving an insufficient result.
In the first case, they could impose a cohabitation government on the new President of the Republic with a Prime Minister from their ranks; in the other case, confined to the opposition, the party risks falling apart, with various components gaining their freedom of action.
As for Eric Ciotti, he would transition from the role of a potential minister (having found in François Baroin his new reference point, after Nicolas Sarkozy for the primary and François Fillon for the presidential election) to that of a more or less marginalized opponent in the parliamentary hotbed.
It would be a fine result … after having left the presidency of the Departmental Council after 10 years!
As for the contents of his (too) long speech, it was a true plea against François Hollande and an indictment of Emmanuel Macron’s program.
In fact, nothing truly new emerged compared to the usual arguments.
As is known, Eric Ciotti asserts his commitment to a strong and clear right-wing stance.
The guiding principle of his action is undoubtedly: “I have my convictions, I have never wavered, I am a man of the right, I claim it and I am proud of it,” that is his statement of faith.
For the future? “I want to continue the fight for my values and ideas in the National Assembly,” he declared to applause.
The floor to the voters on June 11 and 18.
