Paris (AFP)

Gérald Darmanin and Valérie Pécresse fought for credibility on the regal Thursday on France 2, during a courteous but spiky debate between the two former members of LR.

"With Valérie Pécresse we do not have many differences" which are "very caricatured for the needs of the campaign", attacked from the outset the Minister of the Interior, according to whom the ex-LR candidate "might deserve -being to put his energy, which is great at the service of the President of the Republic ".

"I regret that Gérald Darmanin has put his energy and his talent at the service of a majority of the left which uses it as an alibi", replied the one who hopes to be the candidate of the right for 2022, for whom the minister "went to serve his ambitions" by preferring the government to his old party.

On immigration, Ms. Pécresse criticized insufficient expulsions, according to her, and defended her idea of ​​intensifying "charters", as well as that of "give and take" with the countries of origin so that they take back their nationals in exchange for visas.

Gérald Darmanin on September 15, 2021 in Paris Thomas COEX AFP / Archives

Mr. Darmanin, defending his record, mocked the quotas wanted by Ms. Pécresse as a "bad idea" since "the essence of illegal immigration is the misuse of the right of asylum"

Deploring a "school in a calamitous state", a "failed" integration which "can dislocate a nation", the ex-LR candidate promised to fight against "Islamism" which is "the great totalitarianism of the 21st century".

"You have to love your country too, there are good things, it must be said" said Mr. Darmanin.

"My project is that we be proud to be French", assured Ms. Pécresse by exposing her program: "totally rethink the school", increase modest salaries while allowing companies to negotiate an increase in time work, raise the retirement age to 65 by 2030 ...

"Women's leadership exists and it works," assured Ms. Pécresse, who received the support of Alain Delon in a short video, but dried up when listening to a song by Gims, another support for his policy .

While Eric Zemmour was debating at the same time with Jean-Luc Mélenchon on BFMTV, she felt that "Eric Zemmour's France is not mine" and denounced his "recovery".

"When we say + we must make an alliance with the extreme right + we cannot be a sincere Gaullist and have France at heart," she said.

© 2021 AFP