Thursday, the president of the Île-de-France region Valérie Pécresse, former member of the Republicans and founder of the Free party!

declared herself a candidate for the 2022 presidential election. She said she wanted to go through a primary.

This statement might make more sense than it looks. 

"I am a candidate for the Presidency of the Republic to restore French pride".

The president of the Île-de-France region Valérie Pécresse (ex-LR) announced this Thursday in an interview with

Le Figaro

.

New figure in the primary of the right, this candidacy raises questions within this camp.

Europe 1 deciphers this announcement to see more clearly.

Valérie Pécresse bypasses the discussions of the right

By declaring herself a candidate, Valérie Pécresse has simply caused the organization of a primary on the right.

Tuesday, the boss of the Republicans Christian Jacob, Gérard Larcher and Jean Leonetti gathered around potential candidates (except Xavier Bertrand) to find an agreement.

The objective: to decide on the question of a primary on the right.

The president of the Île-de-France region had accepted the invitation as well as Bruno Retailleau, Michel Barnier, the former Brexit negotiator as well as Laurent Wauquiez, the president of the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region.  

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"The dialogue will continue during the summer between officials of the right and the center to seek the most consensual solution possible and lay the foundations for a shared project," they said in a statement after the meeting.

But Valérie Pécresse has just cut the dialogue short.

She announced it, she is a presidential candidate indeed via a primary.

Primary is not for everyone 

The president of the Île-de-France region then puts a lot of pressure on the shoulders of Xavier Bertrand (ex-LR), the first declared contender for the Elysee race.

But he totally refuses the idea of ​​a primary.

"I have always said that I will not participate in the primary, I am a presidential candidate! I will not change!", He proclaimed.

He wasn't even present at last Tuesday's meeting, preferring to meet the party pundits a little later… and alone.

With her candidacy, Valérie Pécresse is therefore forcing Xavier Bertrand to negotiate to find a solution.

Because the law knows it: if it does not present a candidate and only one, it is almost certain to lose in 2022.