“Yes, I am a candidate for the renewal of my parliamentary mandate,” announces the President of the General Council of Alpes-Maritimes with his calm voice, without a single inflection.
“I approach this campaign with confidence, with the comfort of the Presidential results which gave Nicolas Sarkozy more than a 30-point lead over François Hollande and Marine Le Pen,” assures the current Deputy of the constituency.
And to conclude, “I am certain that the voters of the constituency (the 1st) will appreciate the quality of my record; I have done concrete work, with many laws and reforms. I am proud to be one of the deputies who has worked the hardest!”
Eric Ciotti will be accompanied in this campaign by Auguste Vérola, who will be his deputy. This choice seems obvious due to the quality of the relationship between the two men and their shared commitment to the General Council where Auguste Vérola is considered Mr. Social.
Auguste Vérola comes from a “Very Nice” family whose father and grandfather have already participated in political life. Moreover, it goes without saying, Auguste Vérola is also the delegated advisor to the City Center where he is particularly known and appreciated by his fellow citizens (and incidentally voters).
The new boundaries of the constituency, expanded with the addition of downtown territories and a population that increases from 80,000 to 140,000 inhabitants, will be a prime hunting ground for Eric Ciotti’s teammate who will operate in his terrain.
It is known that the 1st constituency will be the “mother of all battles” given the opposing candidacies of Patrick Allemand and Jacques Peyrat.
The former feels the wind in his sails after François Hollande’s victory and will be eager to take advantage of a positive dynamic from his electorate. The latter will represent the National Front/Blue Marine Rally and seems to have regained the vigor of his twenties, seeing this election as the antechamber to the 2014 Municipal and aiming to create a surprise!
Will there be a three-way contest with the risks and uncertainties one can imagine?
This will greatly depend on the turnout rate, which is normally less than 20% compared to the Presidential election. In this case, the two rivals of the Ciotti-Vérola tandem will need to reach 20% of the votes, which is not always easy to achieve. But the UMP representatives are thirsty for revenge and will fully commit to avoid any risk and see their objective through to the end: winning!
