Benjamin Griveaux in doubt - ISA HARSIN / SIPA

  • Benjamin Griveaux is holding a meeting this Monday at Bobino.
  • The LREM candidate for mayor of Paris came in third position for the first time in a recent poll.
  • Some walkers doubt its ability to win the capital next March.

"Whatever happens, we go to the wall. A Parisian walker sums up the gloom that reigns within The Republic on the move within two months of the municipal elections. Despite overwhelming scores in the last polls, Emmanuel Macron's party seems to be preparing for defeat in the capital next March.

Benjamin Griveaux's campaign, in a meeting this Monday evening in Bobino, is still struggling to take off. An Ifop-Fiducial poll, published in the JDD on January 19, has seriously undermined the morale - already well underway - of Macronie. The former government spokesperson only comes in third position (15%), overtaken for the first time by Rachida Dati (LR, at 19%) and largely outdistanced by the outgoing mayor, Anne Hidalgo (PS, at 25%). A third position confirmed in an Odoxa survey published this Sunday in Le Figaro . In the team of the official candidate for En Marche, the culprit is quickly found: the dissident Cédric Villani, credited with 13% of the voting intentions.

"It is true that there is no dynamic in his campaign"

"Division makes victory difficult," plague Julien Bargeton, senator from Paris and support from Benjamin Griveaux. "If we stay in this situation, the challenge will be very complicated to take up, and we make possible the victory of the outgoing mayor". Last week, the presidential party raised its voice, threatening Cédric Villani with exclusion. But it's been a long time since anyone has believed in the mathematician's support. Pressed directly by Emmanuel Macron to "get closer" to Benjamin Griveaux this Sunday, the winner of the Fields medal also confirmed his candidacy in the evening.

"The more time passes, the less the possibility of convergence seems credible," says Philippe Zaouati, former head of Parisian walkers. "The situation is not very good, that's for sure. LREM is the first political force in Paris, but the division makes it invisible, "deplores the current co-president of the" council for climate emergency "established by Benjamin Griveaux.

The concern is felt even within the government. "It is true that there is no dynamic in his campaign," breathes a minister. “Anne Hidalgo is the favorite. It's difficult for Griveaux, because he hasn't really made any mistakes since the start of the campaign. ”

"He has this brittle image that sticks to his skin"

For several months, the candidate has been rolling out his proposals. And reaped the rallies, those of the mayor of the 9th district Delphine Bürkli (ex-LR) or the deputy of center-right Pierre-Yves Bournazel. But even the recent arrivals of macronie heavyweights, such as Marlène Schiappa or Stanislas Guerini, have not reversed the trend.

“35% of Parisians voted Macron in 2017. Given sociology, Paris should not escape us. But that does not take, then there is undoubtedly a more personal problem ”, regrets a relative of the head of state. "I like Benjamin very much, but he may have shown a little too much that he was ambitious".

"I think he's a good guy, but he is so thirsty for success that it shows," says an LREM MP. "He also has this brittle image that sticks to his skin, that of the government spokesperson who taunts the French" smoking cigarettes and driving on diesel "," adds this party executive.

"In the storm, we must stay the course"

Her team continues to work together. “Everything was done to try to delegitimize it. You have to see what happened, a dissident candidacy, the revelation of private conversations [revealed by Le Point, in which Benjamin Griveaux insults his LREM competitors]], a complicated national context with strikes… ”, lists Pacôme Rupine, head of the list in the center of Paris. "He held on. And on the ground, his image has improved ”.

Our 2020 Municipal File

"The unsympathetic image that we sometimes want to stick with Benjamin does not correspond to the man I know, full of self-mockery, funny", regrets Julie Bargeton. The senator remains hopeful: "Parisians will be able to discover our project and the reality of his personality during the debates. In the storm, you have to stay the course. "

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  • Elections
  • Benjamin griveaux
  • LREM
  • Cedric Villani
  • Paris