Lille (AFP)
The Minister of Justice, Eric Dupond-Moretti, announced Friday to the Voix du Nord his candidacy on the LREM list for the regional ones in Hauts-de-France, but without taking the head, as he had been expected.
"I will be in the first row in the Pas-de-Calais on Laurent Pietraszewsksi's list (...) because I do not want this land to slip into the hands of the RN", affirms the Keeper of the Seals, while the LREM list is lagging behind according to the polls against the favorite ex-LR Xavier Bertrand, followed by the RN Sébastien Chenu.
"Mme le Pen refuses to argue with me. She does not want to come to me, so I come to her," insists the minister, "unlike M. Bertrand, I do not want to hunt on the grounds of the National Rally. I want to drive the National Gathering out of this land. "
He also attacks the current boss of the Region on his presidential ambitions, accusing him of taking "Hauts-de-France as the draft of his presidential ambition".
"This election can not be a stepping stone, it is making fun of the voters that", he judges.
"I am fully Minister of Justice and I will be fully engaged in this campaign (...) that one does not come to criticize me on this a priori", professes this native of Maubeuge, former tenor of the bar of Lille, excluding to resign.
This arrival, in a department where Marine Le Pen will be a candidate for the departmental, testifies that "LREM considers that tomorrow, the RN can preside over the region", reacted for AFP Mr. Chenu.
"It is a provocation towards the RN, it is the personality most hostile to the RN," he adds.
"We are impatient to face it (...) it is a sign of panic on the part of En Marche which is doing everything to pass the 10% mark", for its part reacted in the entourage of Xavier Bertrand the LR deputy of Pas-de-Calais, Pierre-Henri Dumont.
A government source confirmed on Wednesday that discussions were being held within the majority and the government for the entry into the battle of this government heavyweight, including to lead the list.
© 2021 AFP