One could define it as a family affair: exit Olivier Bettati, who in 2015 had composed the ticket with Philippe Vardon, and “in” Alexandra Masson and… Madame Bettati in the city. Her husband, who chose Menton to continue his political career (he was a competitor of Jean-Claude Guibal in the 2020 municipal elections), is no longer quite in tune with this party and he votes with the majority on the regional budget.
She will always have by her side the same Philippe Vardon, now president of the RN group on the municipal council of Nice and metropolitan of NCA. He will also play a pivotal role as co-campaign director for Thierry Mariani.
The Nice lawyer, a daughter of the arts (her mother was a UMP senator), is well known for her very dense associative life (she was president of an important association in the cultural and social field for 15 years before Christian Estrosi placed her in management after the 2014 municipal elections). Moreover, in case of victory of the list led by Thierry Mariani, she is expected to be given the delegation to culture.
Her commitment is motivated by the fact that “the country is doing poorly, the government needs to regain strength, the RN is the only one capable of staying true to its principles.” Madame Masson, a right-wing woman, believes that “the RN is the only party to reincarnate these values with strong proposals.”
Regarding her future responsibilities (if she has the opportunity to exercise them), she sees culture as a pivotal element of regional policy and she intends to support all active associations in this sector.
Thierry Mariani, on a tour to introduce the departmental list leaders: “there will be parity, three men and three women in the 6 departments,” he affirmed. At the same time, the candidate took the opportunity to outline some points of the program.
Noblesse oblige, security is the number one point: “if Renaud Muselier chose to strengthen communication, I will opt for security in the TER which have become unmonitored areas,” he said. Considering that security is primarily a matter of proximity, he would commit to funding all municipal investments in this area with an equivalent subsidy, “one euro spent by the municipality, one euro financed by the Region.” The security of high schools (a regional responsibility) will also be reinforced by the presence of guards instead of surveillance cameras, “physical presence is more reassuring than a technological tool.” The Region will also pre-finance (to avoid delays due to administrative lengthiness) the rehabilitation of police stations to ensure the best working conditions for law enforcement.
A meal voucher for students
In view of the ongoing controversies in the so-called republican right camp, Thierry Mariani, who has been a political representative of the former RPR, then UMP, then Les Rรฉpublicains, before forming his party, Droite Nationale, associated with the RN of which he is currently a European deputy, limited himself to indirectly responding to Eric Ciotti, who had negatively commented on the “governing capacity” of RN leaders, by listing all his local (mayor of Valrรฉas, president of the departmental council of Vaucluse), national (deputy, Minister of Transport), and European (deputy) mandates, to name just the main ones.
Then, with good humor, he stated that “in terms of values,” Eric Ciotti is “very close” to the frontist party.
Should we read this as an invitation?
