French political history is full of crossings of the desert completed by a return, sometimes triumphant, often unfortunate. Xavier Bertrand, the president (Les Républicains, LR) of Hauts-de-France, expresses the wish that his reappearance on the front of the stage, Saturday 1is October, in Saint-Quentin (Aisne), belongs rather to the first category.
From this somewhat offbeat return to school, the former Minister of Labor decided to make it the official launch of his We France party, whose statutes had nevertheless been filed at the end of 2021. A way for him to make known the existence of this structure and to shine the spotlight on what he intends to do with it in the future.
Not that Xavier Bertrand has completely disappeared from the radar. The presidency of a large region always makes it possible to participate in the national debate. But the blow he received in December 2021, during the congress to nominate the right-wing candidate for the presidential election, was all about the end of the political party. Long considered a favorite, he was swept away in the first round of the primary, arriving fourth, with 22.36% of the vote, behind Eric Ciotti, Valérie Pécresse and Michel Barnier. Everything was ready, however: the project, the relays, the soundings in good shape. Alas, forced to submit to the vote of the members of the LR party, many of whom blamed him for his shattering departure in 2017, the one who imagined taking the place of Emmanuel Macron at the Elysée had not even been able to run for president. Before this rout, he himself had implied several times that in the event of failure, he would give up all national ambitions for good.
Here he is, however, back in the saddle. With a clearly displayed ambition for the presidential election of 2027. A decision matured during the campaign for the legislative elections, fairly quickly after the defeat of Valérie Pécresse. Called to the rescue by a number of deputies wishing to save their seat in the National Assembly, Xavier Bertrand explains that he understood at the time that this “wasn’t because of his project” that he had lost the primary. “I realized that the ideas I was carrying still had all their relevance”he says.
“Reconnecting with the proposals”
His political line, he will bring it precisely on Saturday to the 1,000 people who have registered. Workshops are organized in the morning, before a speech that he will give in the afternoon. A carte blanche will also be given to Gilles Finchelstein, Managing Director of the Jean-Jaurès Foundation, on the theme “Why the right always loses”. “I will explain the observation that I make on the situation in France and what is the social project on which we are working”explained M. Bertrand. “The idea is to reconnect with the proposals”he insists, arguing, for example, for the compulsory payment of a compulsory bonus of 1,000 euros in companies, whose dividends increase from one year to the next.
You have 54.16% of this article left to read. The following is for subscribers only.