Muriel Marland-Militello, a member of parliament from Alpes-Maritimes, was present among tens of thousands of UMP members. All came to listen to Nicolas Sarkozy. Long close to Christian Estrosi, she has given her unwavering support to Nicolas Sarkozy. She admits that the UMP candidate’s speech touched and even somewhat surprised her: “It was moving. There was a sense of solemnity, a deafening silence. It’s the first time he has shown his heart openly. He surprised me by revealing his humanity. This speech was the culmination of a long journey, of inner peace, peace with his ideas. It was a speech of a President, not just a presidential candidate. He can revisit and reread this speech after the second round.” For Muriel Marland-Militello, he has reached a new level. He has become aware of the mission of the role he is applying for: “He had a true statesman dimension, a Gaullian dimension, meaning the feeling that the mission transcends the person.”
The left criticized his opponent for quoting socialist figures Blum and Jaurès. Muriel Marland-Militello justifies this usage: “Great men belong to everyone. It’s about bringing together all the ideas of all French people.” Nicolas Sarkozy did not attack Ségolène Royal. For MMM, this is logical: “He wanted to speak to all French citizens, therefore to Ségolène Royal as well.”
The only small hiccup of this gathering was the short appearance of Dominique de Villepin. The Deputy comments: “This debate is a rearguard fight. Even if it’s a matter of loyalty to Jacques Chirac, the Prime Minister’s approach makes no sense, has no reason to be. He shares the same ideas as Nicolas Sarkozy. It’s only a matter of personal and personality differences.” She remains convinced that the President of the Republic will not run again and that only the media maintain this hypothesis: “If he ran, he would face a resounding failure. Jacques Chirac would not want to leave politics in such a manner.”
Finally, she feels fortunate to be close to Christian Estrosi, himself close to Nicolas Sarkozy, and declares herself at peace as well: “Nicolas Sarkozy’s inner peace is contagious.”
