The president of the Hauts-de-France region, officially a candidate for the presidential election since Wednesday, shoots red balls on the President of the Republic, who sees him as a very serious rival for the 2022 election. "He will do it. du Le Pen presentable ", fears a minister questioned by Europe 1. 

DECRYPTION

His desire to run was no secret, but the process is now official: Xavier Bertrand is a candidate for the 2022 presidential election. "I am totally determined," said the president of the Hauts-de-region. France in an interview with

Le Point

, Wednesday.

An interview in which he reveals the axes of his program, but especially shoots red balls on Emmanuel Macron, who takes this rival very seriously. 

>> Xavier Bertrand will be the guest of the

Grand Rendez-vous

, Sunday from 10 a.m. to 11 a.m. on Europe 1

Macron "must not take himself for God"

"Macronist practice is centralization and verticality" which "leads the state to its impotence", according to Xavier Bertrand.

"Emmanuel Macron does not understand what is happening in the country. He bypassed the intermediary bodies, erased the Parliament", still attacks the former minister, referring to the nickname of "Jupiter" attributed to the head of state.

"He is not a normal being, but neither should he think of himself as God."

Xavier Bertrand, he wants to govern by referendum to give a Gaullian dimension to a mandate that he wants unique, so as not to worry about his re-election.

Presenting himself as a right-wing, social and popular candidate, he has one objective: to guarantee "the safety of the French, whatever the cost".

Among its proposals are a 50-year security detention for convicted terrorists, a lowering of the criminal majority to 15 years or even the automatic execution of short prison sentences. 

"He's going to make Le Pen presentable"

The former boss of the UMP also highlights his past as an insurer.

"It's not the same as an investment banker in Paris or an heiress," he said in a reference to Marine Le Pen and Emmanuel Macron.

And the latter considers Xavier Bertrand as a tough opponent.

"The president is obsessed with Bertrand, because he feels his determination and sees that he is going to make Le Pen presentable", confides a heavyweight in the government. 

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But all is not won for Xavier Bertrand, who takes a risk: it is now that he must climb in the polls to convince his political family that he can beat the RN….

And this, from the next regional elections.

Xavier Bertrand says it himself: "If I am not able to take this step, then I will have to run for the presidency of my co-ownership".