The fratricidal war between the two strong men of the Riviera, latent for years, has broken out. His forehead : the 5e constituency of the Alpes-Maritimes, which extends from part of the Promenade des Anglais, in Nice, to the villages of the hinterland disfigured by storm Alex, in October 2020. The immense territory, during these legislative elections, has turned into an arena, with its rugged territories and its divided bleachers.
In the center of the ring, for the second round, two women pushed by their respective mentors. On the right, the outgoing deputy, Marine Brenier (Horizons-Ensemble!), protected by Christian Estrosi. And even further to the right, the mayor of the village of Rimplas, and departmental councilor, Christelle D’Intorni (Les Républicains, LR), close to the head of the department, Eric Ciotti. The two men, former accomplice friends who have become sworn enemies, defend through candidates interposed “their” vision of the right. With great enmity.
« This is by far the worst campaign I’ve ever had to do, this Marine Brenier. Usually, I like this kind of strong electoral moments, but there, given the deleterious climate, I can’t wait for it to end. “Acerbic tweets, calls for resignation, withdrawal of delegations, libel complaints: the duel is sometimes very hard. Behind the scenes, the two camps accuse each other ” to have attacked first” et « not to play fair”.
The two candidates however worked together, for a time, in the region, at the time when Marine Brenier still wore the LR label. But faced with the political divorce from the Nice right, they had to choose their side. Christelle D’Intorni opted for Eric Ciotti, strong man of the departmental council, of which he is the president of the finance commission, alongside the president of the institution, Charles Ange Ginésy.
Defamation complaint
Marine Brenier, who succeeded Christian Estrosi as MP for the Alpes-Maritimes in May 2016, at only 29 years old, lined up behind the latter. She has known him for tiny” and went skiing with her daughters in the mountains. He is a descendant of Italian immigrants, she comes from the Nice bourgeoisie, no matter: she ” looks like ” and shares with him many fights. Until dropping his “LR” label in May for that of Horizons, the party of Edouard Philippe, the former prime minister of Emmanuel Macron. A ” treason “ that her rival does not intend to let forget.
On June 8, Christelle D’Intorni publicly invited Christian Estrosi to present his resignation from his mandate as mayor of Nice and president of the metropolis. According to her, the elected representative of the fifth largest city in France has “betrayed” right-wing voters by rallying to the presidential majority. ” A simple answer, ensures the « clan » Ciotti, to a decision by Christian Estrosi, who withdrew her delegations to metropolitan France because of the “ attacks » and « calumnies that it was about the community.
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