Bordeaux (AFP)
The Minister of Agriculture Didier Guillaume said Monday that he is "a candidate more than ever" for the town hall of Biarritz also disputed by the Secretary of State for Tourism and Foreign Trade Jean-Baptiste Lemoyne who is on the list outgoing mayor MoDem Michel Veunac.
Questioned by France Bleu Pays Basque on the maintenance of his candidacy in front of his colleague from the government, the minister declared to be "always" candidate and "of course always minister".
On Wednesday, Prime Minister Edouard Philippe called this duel of ministers "a baroque situation".
On these remarks, the Minister of Agriculture agreed: "What is this situation where a minister is candidate head of list and a secretary of state is candidate on another (...) The Prime Minister is right, it is a baroque situation, there cannot be in Biarritz two candidate ministers against each other ".
When asked if President Emmanuel Macron was going to settle the Biarrot case, he replied: "It's not impossible".
"If tomorrow I am asked to choose between the top of the list in Biarritz and the minister, I will choose the top of the list in Biarritz, the choice is made," he said.
At the microphone of France Bleu, he put forward his Biarrote roots, explaining not coming "by parachute as they say" in this city where according to him "68% of the inhabitants have been there for less than 20 years".
One way to respond to criticism from Michel Veunac who accused him of having "no particular attachment" to Biarritz and of proceeding to his city with an "unfriendly takeover".
"Since I left politics in Drôme in 2015 (…) I have made a choice of life here, I have been coming here for decades (…) my wife is a teacher there, I live here” , insisted the Minister.
At the microphones of several local media, Jean-Baptiste Lemoyne had for his part invoked Friday the anticipation of his involvement in the campaign.
© 2020 AFP