Marseilles (AFP)

In an unfavorable waiver at the end of the first round, Renaud Muselier, outgoing LR president in Provence-Alpes-Côte-d'Azur, finally retained his chair, depriving the National Rally and its head of the list Thierry Mariani of a first region. , a former Republican, according to initial estimates.

"I won, we won", "the logic of unity" has "denied all the forecasts", declared the president of the Regions of France, insisting on this "logic of gathering" which he had started before. the first round by including in particular Walkers on his list, causing in the way a real psychodrama in his party.

Thanking the Republicans, his "political family", in his HQ in Joliette, opposite the port, Mr. Muselier also greeted "the members of the presidential majority" who "extended their hand" to him.

Outpaced by 4.5 points by the former minister of Nicolas Sarkozy in the first round (36.4% against 31.9%), Renaud Muselier largely made up his delay to finally win by more than 14 points, with 56, 8% to 57.7% of the vote according to the figures of the various polling institutes for the Paca region.

After Jean-Marie Le Pen, candidate three times for the National Front in the region (in 1992, 1998 and 2010), then his granddaughter, Marion Maréchal-Le Pen, in 2015, it was therefore Thierry Mariani who failed this time to win the region for the party now led by Marine Le Pen, the daughter of the founder of the movement.

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If the abstention, estimated at around 64%, fell slightly between the two rounds, it remained much stronger than in the second round of the 2015 regional (39.7%), during which the final duel had already opposed the right on the extreme right, with Christian Estrosi facing Marion Maréchal-Le Pen.

Renaud Muselier's victory would be even larger than that of the mayor of Nice, whom he succeeded in the chair of regional president in May 2017.

- "Bosom of the Republic" -

Mr. Estrosi, 14 points behind in the first round, had already made an impressive "remount", more than doubling his score between the two rounds, with some 600,000 additional votes, to finally win by nearly 10 points (54 , 8% versus 45.2%).

As in 2015, the left list, qualified for the second round, finally made the choice this year also to retire in Paca to block the far right.

And the 195,000 voters of Jean-Laurent Félizia (16.9%), ecological leader of the Ecological and Social Rally, visibly imitated - at least in part - those of Christophe Castaner, then socialist, in 2015, by being many opted for "the republican front" in the second round.

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"The Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region remains in the bosom of the Republic. I welcome this, and wish its President good luck", greeted on Twitter the PS mayor of Marseille Benoît Payan.

"It is the agreement (...) made with the presidential majority that allows this magnificent #paca region not to be governed by the RN," said Thierry Solère, ex-LR who became an LREM deputy and adviser. by President Emmanuel Macron, also on Twitter.

The only outgoing regional president not to have finished first in the first round, Renaud Muselier had received between the two rounds the support of many personalities, from former President LR Nicolas Sarkozy to his socialist successor François Hollande, via Bernard Tapie , Minister of the City of François Mitterrand and majority shareholder of the regional daily La Provence.

Even Eric Ciotti, the LR deputy of the Alpes-Maritimes, who had nevertheless asked that the party withdraw its support after its alliance with the Marchers in the first round, had finally called to vote in his favor.

© 2021 AFP