The National Front deputy, Marion Maréchal-Le Pen, announced her candidacy for the regional elections in Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur (PACA) in an interview with the weekly Valeurs Actuelles this Tuesday.
A new Hamlet in a skirt, she has come out of her musings: “I have made my decision. I will indeed be a candidate.”
Initially, the deputy had requested a “reflection period” from the political bureau after being nominated by the National Front. Her hesitations stemmed from the crisis within the FN following Jean-Marie Le Pen’s repeated remarks about gas chambers, which led to his suspension from the party.
The elected official stated in the weekly that she had received “the assurance from Jean-Marie Le Pen that he will not interfere in the campaign.” The suspense, which was not really suspenseful, is thus over.
Christian Estrosi, who loudly demanded that “his” rival declare herself, has received in return the challenge glove… and an initial jab: Marion Maréchal-Le Pen declaring that she was “much more afraid of Eric Ciotti, who is technical, hardworking, and a good regional council president,” than the current mayor of Nice. Who will appreciate this, he who does not like at all to be compared to whom he sometimes still calls… “his former chief of staff.” For the record, Eric Ciotti was once considered as a potential candidate before Nicolas Sarkozy chose his (friend) rival.
Returning to the end-of-year election, the question remains: Who, between the seasoned political veteran and the young heir of the family clan, will best arrange their eggs in their basket to break them later, and finally, make the best omelet?
The third participant in the contest, the socialist Christophe Castaner, considered rightly or wrongly already out of the race, has also entered the fray and made his voice heard: “Rather than her uncertainties, I would like to know the project of Marion Maréchal-Le Pen. We are in a game of postures, we know that the speech she is promoting here is not applicable.”
There it is, it’s (finally) started…
