In recent months, Laurent Wauquiez has been trying to stay away from the news. Problem, the president of Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes has lost his game of media hide-and-seek. On Tuesday February 21, the National Financial Prosecutor’s Office carried out a search at the headquarters of the region, in Lyon, as part of a preliminary investigation opened in December 2022 “for favouritism, concealment of favoritism and embezzlement of public funds” following the revelations of Mediapart.
On June 23, 2022, the regional president brought together 90 distinguished guests (entrepreneurs, athletes, media personalities) for a “dinner of the summits” at the Château de La Chaize (Rhône), in Beaujolais. The bill is salty: a little over 100,000 euros – or more than 1,100 euros per guest, “100% at his expense”then indicates the presidency of the region to Mediapartwithout specifying to which budget the expenditure had been charged.
In his party Les Républicains (LR), some are waiting for other news from the one who appears, at 47, as the ideal candidate for the presidential election of 2027. A deputy is surprised, for example, by his silence on the reform retreats and his lip service to a very busy Eric Ciotti with his slingers. On Saturday February 18, the president of LR warned him well before removing Aurélien Pradié from his post as executive vice-president of the party for repeated insubordination. But the friends of the deputy of Lot do not believe in an intervention by Mr. Wauquiez and argue that the latter prefers to wash his hands of it.
“It stays between us”
By force, Mr. Ciotti has made up his mind. He is not against a little help from his champion for the Elysée. But it provides the minimum service, when its main rival, the president of Hauts-de-France, Xavier Bertrand, continues the morning to criticize an unfair reform according to him. “I respect Laurent’s positionsaid the president of LR to the Monde. We discuss regularly together, but it stays between us. »
Is Laurent Wauquiez hiding? On the right, some whisper it, others formulate it willingly, like Jean-François Copé. “He hides by letting his faithful torpedo the courageous line worn by the trio Eric Ciotti-Olivier Marleix-Bruno Retailleau [les présidents de groupe à l’Assemblée et au Sénat] »deplores the mayor of Meaux (Seine-et-Marne) in an interview with Sunday newspaper, February 18. In the entourage of the person concerned, we refer to his declaration of January 20 on the sidelines of his wishes to the press in Lyon: this reform is not his, but the principle of responsibility “will consist of not opposing it”.
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