For Laurent Wauquiez, Michel Barnier is "a great man" who will "wear the colors"

Alexandre Chauveau 11:40 a.m., September 13, 2021, modified at 11:42 a.m., September 13, 2021

He won't be running for the presidential race, but he seems to have his candidate.

Asked last Friday by the local channel Savoie News, Laurent Wauquiez, president of the regional council of Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, made a statement in barely veiled support for Michel Barnier, former member of Savoy and candidate for the candidacy of the right for the presidential election.

"I wanted the region to be very strongly present again, in our mountains, in our alpine territories. And it wouldn't have been right, after that, to leave and say 'it's good, I go straight away. "I wanted to take time, I wanted to devote myself to our region, because people had trusted me", first declared Laurent Wauquiez, to justify his non-candidacy.

. @ laurentwauquiez on his refusal to go to primary: “I wanted to devote myself to our region pcq people had trusted me.

And we even have @MichelBarnier who will wear the colors, I know that a lot of people in the Alps will support him.

He's a great man.

»Pic.twitter.com/UWMB68aoS7

- Alexandre Chauveau (@ChauveauA) September 13, 2021

Before adding: "We still have Michel Barnier who will wear the colors, and I know that there are a lot of people in the Alps who are going to support him, I was with him yesterday [Thursday] evening… C ' is a great man ".

"At this stage, Laurent Wauquiez is not supporting anyone"

In the same sentence, Laurent Wauquiez therefore reaffirms that he is not going for the presidential election and that Michel Barnier will "wear the colors".

A statement in support of the former European commissioner, even if in the team of the president of the Auvergne Rhône-Alpes region, we assure "that at this stage, Laurent Wauquiez does not support anyone for the primary".

As a reminder, until now Laurent Wauquiez had never taken sides with any candidate.