With approximately 6,000 people—figure provided by the organizers—and around a hundred mayors and municipal, departmental, and regional elected officials, plus MP Marine Brenier and Senator Dominique Estrosi-Sassone, the “estrosie” effectively managed its political return and demonstrated a show of strength.
The assessment of 10 years as mayor of Nice was overshadowed by excessive praise (“tanto nomini nullum par elogium”), to the point of losing spontaneity and casting doubt on its sincerity, from Valérie Pécresse, Renaud Muselier, and Arnaud Robinet in their speeches.
However, the analysis of the evening takes us beyond that: the rapprochement between internal critical, even dissident movements from the LR’s political line is taking shape, with Valérie Pécresse’s presence at the France Audacieuse* seminar being a visible element. The words of the regional president of Île-de-France and the Libres movement confirm it: “In politics, as in life, you walk on two legs! #lafranceaudacieuse represents the leg of action and experience! @SoyonsLibres, it’s the leg of ideas, meant to draft a presidential program!”
Adding to these two groups are other influential local administrators, such as Renaud Muselier in the South-Paca Region, Jean Rottner in the Grand Est Region, Hervé Morin in the Normandy Region, and the external but influential support of Xavier Bertrand (Hauts-de-France Region), making the task on the LR map substantial.
This galaxy—currently not a structured organization—is united by an “idem sentire” and a complementarity in reflection and proposal. Is it conceivable to establish operational coordination or even a fusion among all to create a pragmatic opposition, presenting as an alternative to the current presidential majority with concrete proposals and an example of good territorial governance?
“We are the right of territories, solutions, governance. But we cannot win without the center; we must ally with it!” states La France Audacieuse.
Claiming fidelity to right-wing values [I am a right-wing man and I stand for it] was one of the highlights of Christian Estrosi’s speech, an indirect response to recent accusations by his local rival Eric Ciotti, who labeled him the “unofficial leader of En Marche.”
So where is the truth? The answer is simple: everywhere and nowhere. Which right-wing are we talking about?
For Christian Estrosi, it is “the republican ideal, made of authority and justice, independence and struggle, freedom and innovation, equality and transformation, progress and action, and unity.” In summary, freedom and audacity, one of the slogans characterizing the La France Audacieuse movement.
In his speech, the mayor of Nice avoided all reference to Eric Ciotti’s repeated attacks during the internal LR campaign for the departmental presidency.
A hint can be found in this passage: “We idolize no leader, we are not anyone’s lapdogs.”
An allusion to Eric Ciotti’s tendency to serve the powerful of the moment? Indeed, one recalls his positions, following convenience more than convictions, as an ultra-zealous collaborator of Sarkozy, Fillon, and now Wauquiez, during various moments and circumstances of recent political life.
Without venturing into the risky exercise of prediction, we leave the evening with a forecast: there will be no competition for the election to the LR departmental presidency. Christian Estrosi will not run and will leave this empty shell to Eric Ciotti.
Without confrontation, can you imagine what mobilization of the party’s electorate might occur the weekend of October 13 and 14? If Eric Ciotti sought an opportunity to challenge Christian Estrosi and defeat him at the polls, this time he missed it.
