Paris (AFP)

Cédric Villani, urged by Emmanuel Macron to "get closer" to Benjamin Griveaux for the municipal elections in Paris, on Sunday evening opposed the President of the Republic, by "maintaining his candidacy freely".

After an interview of almost an hour in the afternoon at the Élysée Palace, between the head of state and the dissident LREM candidate, the entourage of Emmanuel Macron first indicated that the president had asked for the mathematician "to get closer to Benjamin Griveaux in a spirit of unity and unity in order to make projects converge".

Alas: less than thirty minutes later, Cédric Villani replied dryly, stating "a major difference" with the head of state. "Between belonging to a political apparatus and the commitment to the city that made me, I choose to remain faithful to Parisians by maintaining my candidacy freely", hammered the (always) deputy LREM of the Try in front of the gates of the presidential palace.

Interviewed by AFP, a spokesperson for Benjamin Griveaux, Marie-Laure Harel, deplored "division and dissent", asking: "What is his project in the end, losing himself and losing his political family ? "

By closing the door on Emmanuel Macron, at the risk of being excluded from the party, Mr. Villani writes a new chapter of a Parisian campaign badly started for the macronie and sealed by bad polls.

According to an Odoxa-CGI study for Le Figaro published on Sunday, Benjamin Griveaux collected 16% of the voting intentions in the first round, and Cédric Villani 10%, far behind Anne Hidalgo (24%) and Rachida Dati (18%).

For several weeks, many voices have been calling for a presidential position in order to "whistle the end of recess" and give clear support to Benjamin Griveaux - like that expressed by Édouard Philippe in September. "But this Sunday meeting at the Élysée Palace was not well played out for the President of the Republic, because it weakens it," notes a bitter senior party official.

- "Only losers" -

Villani, who added to his agenda a public meeting Monday evening at the same time as his rival will hold his second meeting, is he now condemned to be excluded from LREM?

"Cédric Villani has chosen to break up with the President of the Republic, he is finally coming out of ambiguity. Now things are very clear, we will finally be able to talk about Paris and Parisians, that's good", indicates a relative of the candidate Griveaux.

"You have to be careful, that would legitimize a green alliance with Belliard", warns a historic walker all the same. The mathematician has rightly put forward Sunday evening the proposal of the environmental candidate David Belliard to form in Paris a "climate coalition" - even if for the moment, he has not answered it and returns his interlocutor on the evening of the first round, March 15.

"We can only be happy that Cédric Villani prefers the climate coalition rather than respond to Macron's orders. Now we will have to take the second step and break with the government's permanent anti-climate and anti-social policy", reacts to AFP Anne Souyris, spokesperson for David Belliard.

The fact remains that Villani took a risk by attacking the head of state head-on. "His expression was terribly awkward, because he cuts himself off from a whole section of walkers and elected officials, who are legitimists," said an elected LREM, while the medalist Fields was until then "carrier for many deputies of values ​​that are those of the movement from the start ", according to a deputy, and that he enjoyed" support and friendships within the group much stronger than those of Benjamin Griveaux ".

"The situation is not very clear and it is not very good, neither for the president, nor for Villani, nor for Griveaux", sighs a walker from the first hour. "The streak only makes losers".

© 2020 AFP