As expected, Renaud Muselier was elected president of the Provence Alpes Côte d’Azur Region. This marks his second term following the one he began in 2017 after the resignation of Christian Estrosi. The 62-year-old from Marseille takes the Provencal sash for seven years, with his only opposition coming from Thierry Mariani’s National Rally.
This election resonates as the culmination of a tough campaign against the National Rally and after the withdrawal of the left. Now positioned towards calmness and tangible results.
In his official statements, Renaud Muselier revisited the controversies caused within his party by his decision to include representatives of LREM on his list: “Our success and the resounding victory it achieved are not by chance but indeed due to this amalgamation of skills and the ability to serve the interest of ‘our Region first’”, he stated.
He then added: “Our winning trifecta was: that of our outgoing majority united and supportive, that of the excellence of our record, that of the balance both territorial and political on which our team was built.”
Indeed, how could one forget the internal opposition from the proponents of “neither-nor” (neither Macron nor Marine Le Pen) led by some elected officials (notably Eric Ciotti and David Lisnard in the Alpes-Maritimes) who did not campaign and declared their abstention or blank votes?
Renaud Muselier did not forget to mention the support from the lists of Jean-Marc Governatori and Jean Letizia, who, by withdrawing from the second round and calling for voters to support him, allowed him to close the gap between him and his competitor Thierry Mariani. He confirmed the commitment to integrate parts of their programs in implementing his own and to involve them in governance.
The speech by Pierre-Paul Leonelli, reconfirmed at the head of the majority group named “Our Region First” (this campaign slogan has become the label of this regional movement), was obviously fully supportive while highlighting the reasons for this closely won success: “the credibility of the project based on the unity of our majority, the excellence of our record, the relevance of our project”.
But could he forget the obstacles put in their way by “false friends,” those adept at politics? Christian Estrosi, who remains the number 1bis in the regional community (publicly called “Le Pen-compatible”?), said: “You held your course while others sowed doubt or fell into invective.”
As for the defeated candidate, the Le Pen supporter Thierry Mariani, who for two months was predicted by polls to be the winner in all scenarios, he limited himself to promising “a combative opposition.”
The elected officials from Nice on his list, Philippe Vardon and Mesdames Masson and Delpech, will be sure to make their contributions.
