Paris (AFP)

The three candidates for the investiture LREM for the mayor of Paris, Hugues Renson, Benjamin Griveaux and Cédric Villani, have passed their grand oral in front of the nomination committee of the party, Tuesday, before a meeting scheduled for Wednesday by the executive board.

"An application for solutions" for Hugues Renson, "an application that can win Paris" according to Benjamin Griveaux or "the project, vision and strategy based on the certainty that Paris is a singular city", as outlined by Cédric Villani, compete at the end of the successive performances before the commissioners of La République en Marche.

They each spoke for 90 minutes.

The three suitors had filed a case last Friday. Except theatrical, the appointment of the winner must take place Wednesday early evening.

"I want to salute the quality of listening of the commission which allowed me to defend this project for the Parisians and its concrete solutions", rejoiced the MP Hugues Renson, formerly close to the former president Jacques Chirac, who however, regretted a timeline that was considered rushed, and who would have liked to have more time "to debate".

Mr. Griveaux, former spokesman for the government, for his part, expressed his old commitment in the battle for Paris, welcoming "an independent commission", "which (him) asked questions on topics that make the daily Parisians, questions about the metropolis, about the finances of the city, and who also judges the strength of the candidates who come before it ".

Mr. Griveaux went to the headquarters of LREM with an army of supporters composed of deputies Olivia Grégoire, Sylvain Maillard, Pacôme Rupin and the rallies Christophe Bargeton or Antonio Duarte.

At this show of strength, the deputy of Essonne Cédric Villani responded with enthusiasm, carried by flattering polls. Accompanied by the rallies Mounir Mahjoubi and Anne Lebreton, he was acclaimed by the cheers of a score of supporters at the end of his audition.

"At the end of this open exchange with the commission, I became convinced that we must be invested to bring renewal in Paris tomorrow, a political project that is based on novelty," he said.

All still called for the "rally", Hugues Renson reaching out to "independent" candidates Pierre-Yves Bournazel and Gaspard Gantzer.

? 2019 AFP