Paris (AFP)
Xavier Bertrand, presidential candidate (ex-LR), defended a project combining "authority, work and territories", in an interview with the daily L'Union posted online Monday.
"Today, there are not 50 projects to undertake: authority, work and territories," he said on the eve of a visit to the Chalons-en-Champagne fair.
According to him, the French "really want France to be a working society. That the difference be made through work, that it pays."
The president of Hauts-de-France, who crisscrossed the country this summer, was able "to test a certain number of measures on the French" and to see that it was necessary to "adjust some, sometimes not simple enough".
"When you do not live in Paris or a large metropolis, you still count. I received this message five out of five," he said, promising to "trust the French".
And "if I do not want to participate in a primary" to designate the right-wing candidate, "it is because I want to meet all the French" that we must "convince that politics can still be of use to something ", he explained.
While several right-wing officials are calling for collective play as the presidential election approaches, including Valérie Pécresse (also a candidate but via a possible primary), Mr. Bertrand considered that "the idea of the rally is obvious".
"The question that is asked is that of the gathering with Valérie Pécresse, with others, with the participants in the primary that some want to organize, and the people who will not enter this primary," he added.
There is also "no question of leading a campaign and leading the country, if the French trust us, alone", according to him.
"So, of course, I agree with Valérie and others. We can only have one candidacy but a great team," he insisted.
Mr. Bertrand, who has just appointed ten spokespersons including 9 LR, assured to have "the greatest respect for LR" because "it is my political family even if I am no longer a member" since 2017.
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