He throws a paving stone in the pond. Monday, Emmanuel Macron "opened the debate" on a possible postponement of the regional elections scheduled for next March, "a time when we must all be mobilized for the revival of the country", after the presidential election of 2022, said the Elysee. "The President of the Republic raised the issue of the electoral calendar with regard to the implementation of the recovery plan in the fall, in which the regions will be closely associated," explained the presidency, after a lunch at the Elysée between Emmanuel Macron and the President of the Regions of France Renaud Muselier (LR), confirming information from Le Figaro .
The head of state “opens the debate in the general interest. We cannot ask that the regions participate in the recovery plan but that they interrupt their action because of the campaign, ”we told the Elysee. According to several regional presidents, who were then debriefed by Renaud Muselier during a videoconference, the president would have conditioned state financial assistance to the regions in support of them for a postponement of the poll beyond 2022 Presidents of regions such as Xavier Bertrand (LR, Hauts-de-France), Valérie Pécresse (ex-LR, Ile-de-France) or Laurent Wauquiez (LR, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes), are regularly cited as Emmanuel Macron's potential competitors for the next presidential election.
"I will not give money to my opponents"
"I help you (financially) if you help me postpone the regional elections after the presidential election because I have political opponents among you. I'm not going to give my opponents money, ”said Macron, according to Muselier's account revealed by Le Figaro .
https://twitter.com/Regionsdefrance/status/1272618069823815680
According to the entourage of a region president, the head of state named Xavier Bertrand, Valérie Pécresse and Laurent Wauquiez. In a press release, Renaud Muselier "formally challenged the remarks attributed to certain regional presidents following the working lunch with the President of the Republic". And he wanted "to clarify that the exchanges between presidents are held under the seal of confidentiality and that the elements reported in the press do not correspond to reality". But several Presidents of Regions were moved by the declarations of Emmanuel Macron. “Postponing elections is not a choice of personal convenience, neither of the President of the Republic nor of the presidents of regions. We must respect the people, ”notably denounced Valérie Pécresse, quoted by the Parisian .
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