In Lille, Anne Hidalgo presented, Saturday, October 23, a "project of reconquest", during the investiture convention of the Socialist Party for the presidential election of 2022. The first big meeting of the candidate was intended to reassure the family socialist and to give new impetus to his bogged down presidential campaign.

"I come to carry a project of reconquest. This reconquest is social, this reconquest is ecological, This reconquest is democratic", explained the mayor of Paris.

A month and a half after declaring herself a candidate in Rouen, Anne Hidalgo, demoted behind the ecologist Yannick Jadot and the rebellious Jean-Luc Mélenchon, vegetates in the voting intentions, around 4 to 7%. 

In front of 1,700 socialist activists and elected officials, according to PS First Secretary Olivier Faure, she defended, targeting the right, "a candidacy that refuses identity surrender", and unleashed its blows against the outgoing Emmanuel Macron. 

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"I am here for the people of France, I am there, so that after so much indifference and condescension, we do him justice and consideration," said the one who was also officially invested Saturday by the PS, promising again that she would go "to the end".

"I carry France within me as only someone who has chosen it can carry it", declared this Spanish immigrant who arrived in France at two years old and naturalized at 14 years old.

"I represent what many of our opponents would like to silence: a woman, on the left, of foreign origin, deeply European. I am the ones some of whom seek to crush their voices," she said in a speech multiplying personal accents.

Investiture speech and series of promises

Placing itself as "heir to the social fights" of Lionel Jospin, François Hollande and Ségolène Royal, she spelled out a long series of proposals, and first of all "a decent remuneration for each and everyone".

Anne Hidalgo also wants to launch "a policy to massively encourage unionism", set up "universal unemployment insurance", and make mental health "a great cause" of her five-year term. 

It also plans to generalize "the regulation of rents in tense areas", to create "a public early childhood service" and to put in place a law for "the right to die with dignity". 

>> To read also: Presidential: on the left, the hope of a union well and truly buried

The mayor of Paris will also bring in the campaign the objectives, among others, to bring "60% of an age group the number of higher education graduates", "to achieve carbon neutrality in 2050", "a profound reform of our institutions ", and put in place" a social programming law from the summer of 2022, to achieve total wage equality in 5 years ".

In the education sector, she repeated her proposal, much criticized by her opponents who deem it unrealistic, "to double the treatment of all people in contact with students, or to start, to align at least the salary of new teachers on the salary of bac + 5 ". 

Martine Aubry, Bernard Cazeneuve and Olivier Faure among his supporters 

In terms of ecology, it plans in particular to set up "a" climate ISF which will weigh on wealthy households whose assets emit the most carbon ", and to have Parliament vote" each year a carbon budget for the Nation " . 

While two-thirds of left-wing supporters say they want their camp to be united in the first round, according to an Ipsos poll, the candidate must convince that she can create a dynamic and make people forget the resounding failure of the last presidential election for the PS (Benoit Hamon had obtained 6.3% of the vote).

Around the mayor of Lille Martine Aubry, first political mentor of Anne Hidalgo, the former Prime Minister Bernard Cazeneuve came on Saturday to declare his "absolute support" for "a very great lady", and Olivier Faure assured her that she could "count on all the militants". 

Many elected socialists were present, - including his "France team of mayors", a new generation of elected PS who constitute his close guard -, as well as personalities from civil society, such as the climatologist Jean Jouzel.

The former head of state, François Hollande, very critical of the fragmentation of the left and its “Lilliputian” candidacies, was not present but assures us that he will vote for her.

With AFP and Reuters 

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