Delanoë’s Tears
As every year since 2014, Bertrand Delanoë brought together his former collaborators. The reunion took place on Thursday at La Scala, located in the 10th arrondissement of Paris. After an introductory speech by Nicolas Revel and Mathias Vicherat, two of his former chief of staff at the City Hall, the former PS mayor of the capital took the floor.
“Who would have thought that one of you would become mayor of Paris?” Bertrand Delanoë exclaimed to the hundred participants in a joyful atmosphere. “Maybe one of you did think that, because it goes way back, these things…” He was obviously referring to Emmanuel Grégoire, present in the audience: the latter was his chief of staff at the City Hall from 2010 to 2012.
After Mariani’s Failure in Paris
Following the failure of his municipal lists in the capital, with only 1.61% of the votes, swept away by the competition of Sarah Knafo, MEP Thierry Mariani is expected to leave the Parisian federation of the RN by September, a symbol of the inability of the far-right to establish itself in the metropolis. Among the names circulating as his replacement is that of Patrice Hubert, the party’s general manager, a long-time activist and former reference of the National Front in Moscow, where he worked in the private sector.
The Moulin-Gustin Cohabitation
At Matignon, Emmanuel Moulin’s prospective departure from the general secretariat of the Elysée, a year after his arrival, causes little sorrow. The relationship between him and the chief of staff of Sébastien Lecornu, Philippe Gustin, is very poor. However, their disagreement has not affected their respective bosses: the Head of State and his Prime Minister, in constant contact, continue to have a very fluid relationship.
Attal’s Aperitif
Gabriel Attal has invited the Renaissance deputies and all their parliamentary collaborators to an aperitif on April 7 at their movement’s headquarters. This will be an opportunity for their group and party president to review the agenda for the coming weeks after the parliamentary break during the municipal elections. Determined to run for president, the former Prime Minister will multiply initiatives, from the release of his book on April 23 (titled “En homme libre”) to a series of public meetings in the provinces.
The Ciotti Supporter and the Senate
Eric Ciotti’s victory in Nice allows the UDR to hope to win seats from the Republicans in the Alpes-Maritimes in the upcoming senatorial elections. However, the mayor will have to decide with Jordan Bardella on a dilemma: will his party form a joint list with the RN, which has conquered Menton and Cagnes-sur-Mer? Charles-Ange Ginésy, the department’s leader, is eyeing the senatorial mandate but is unsure about wanting Front National allies. The same goes for his supporters, who want to preserve the local ambiguity between the right and the far right.
Collard’s Influence
In Gard, where he was elected from 2012 to 2020 before sitting with the far-right in the European Parliament, three of Gilbert Collard’s former parliamentary collaborators have won mayorships. In Vauvert, it is a first for deputy Nicolas Meizonnet (who was his substitute in the National Assembly), as well as for Laurent Milesi in Vers-Pont-du-Gard. Re-elected in Uchaud, Joffrey Leon has, for the first time, won the presidency of the Rhône-Vistre-Vidourle community of communes.
Roubaix, the Impossible Agreement
To prevent David Guiraud, the Insoumis candidate, from being elected mayor of Roubaix, Xavier Bertrand proposed a deal to the PS and the ecologists between the two rounds: in exchange for withdrawing their list, the LR candidate, who came second, would reserve two-thirds of the seats on his list for them. But Olivier Faure and Marine Tondelier vetoed this solution. “They didn’t want to upset Guiraud,” concluded the LR leader for Hauts-de-France.
