Paris (AFP)

The president of Hauts-de-France Xavier Bertand and the boss of the Republicans Christian Jacob have for the first time in three years lunched face to face Wednesday in Paris, and agreed on this occasion to meet again "in October".

"We talked about the regional" and "agreed to meet again before" the election scheduled for spring, Christian Jacob told AFP at the end of this private lunch organized in a restaurant in the 15th arrondissement.

The two men should meet again "from October" said Xavier Bertrand.

The former minister explained to Mr. Jacob his presidential strategy, which is part of a "logic of gathering".

Christian Jacob "completely understood me", he reported.

"LR is the political family where I have the most friends, but you have to go beyond it" to address a "popular right", added Xavier Bertrand, who had beaten Marine Le Pen in the 2015 regional. .

"I will not go back," added the former Minister of Health, who repeated during this lunch that he would not transform his La Manufacture movement into a political party, but that he would not take back his card at LR.

Without saying whether LR was going to support the former Sarkozy minister, Christian Jacob said he had charged three elected officials from the region, Gérard Fasquelle, Julien Dive and Sébastien Huyghe to "see" Xavier Bertrand.

This lunch was a first since 2017, when the boss of Hauts-de-France had slammed the door of the party after the election of Laurent Wauquiez as its head.

It is part of the rapprochement movement initiated between Xavier Bertrand and Les Républicains, confronted with the delicate question of their presidential candidate.

The mayor of Troyes François Baroin has long appeared as the natural candidate for the right but, with growing doubts about his willingness to run, LR postponed the choice of his champion until April 2021.

By then the regional will have taken place, which could be decisive for several potential contenders for the investiture of the right, such as Xavier Bertrand or Valérie Pécresse, the president of the Hauts-de-France region.

© 2020 AFP