Arrived at the end of the morning at the nature reserve of Sainte-Opportune-la-Mare (Eure), she herself launched the subject: "I did not want to cancel this meeting despite the dramatic international situation, even if I understand that this meeting may seem a little out of step with current events”, she told the elected officials and hunters who came to welcome her.

"The campaign must take place but the context worries us a lot", she added, leaving to wait for adjustments to her agenda: "If the conflagration continues at our doors, obviously that justifies that we are in a logic of responsibility and action, with eyes on Ukraine".

The agenda for the next few days has been set up to cancel certain travel projects or programs (such as "Face à Baba" at Cyril Hanouna on March 3).

However, it is difficult to suspend the campaign: "The presidential candidates have no operational responsibilities in crisis management", recalled Ms. Pécresse.

“That does not prevent me from supporting the actions of the government when they go in the right direction, that is what I call acting responsibly, nor from making a certain number of suggestions to it to go further”, a- she added.

On Friday, presidential candidate LR maintained her traditional weekend trip with two days in Normandy.

She was to visit a farm on Saturday before a meeting in Caen.

Five weeks before the first round, her campaign is slipping, and Valérie Pécresse is struggling to stem the negative spiral triggered after the February 13 meeting, which she herself admitted "failed".

Valérie Pécresse (c) in an observation tower at the Grand'mare nature reserve, on February 25, 2022 in Sainte-Opportune-la-Mare Sameer Al-DOUMY AFP

Since then the polls have been at half mast (many give her in 4th position, behind Eric Zemmour) and the candidate had to face a Liberation investigation on Thursday, on "fraudulent maneuvers" aimed at inflating the electorate ahead of the primary which nominated candidate in December.

Ms. Pécresse on Wednesday denounced a "grotesque manipulation of destabilization".

"retaliations"

Starting her day with hunters, a precious electorate for the right and whom she described as "first environmentalists", Valérie Pécresse assured that "banning hunting on weekends as wanted (the environmental candidate) Yannick Jadot, is ban hunting altogether".

At a time when parliament was meeting to hear a message from Emmanuel Macron on Ukraine, the LR candidate then visited the Saint James sweater factory in the Channel.

LR presidential candidate Valérie Pécresse, through a window, during a meeting with hunters, February 25, 2022 in Sainte-Opportune-la-Mare Sameer Al-DOUMY AFP

The opportunity for her to defend her project of "New France", during an exchange of an hour and a half with the employees, whether on purchasing power, made in France or pensions.

The Ukrainian question interfered in the debate, around a question from an administrative employee: "The Covid crisis is ending, the crisis in Ukraine is beginning, we are going to have an increase in gas, the price of stainless steel has doubled... we are unable to predict"

“I would like us to sit down at EU level to define strategic productions in Europe,” replied the candidate.

She also then estimated, during a press briefing, that "unfortunately there will be significant consequences on energy prices, and also on agriculture", because "if there are Russian retaliation they will probably relate to French food products".

Valérie Pécresse was, however, freed from a burden after the resignation of former Prime Minister François Fillon from his Russian mandates on the boards of directors of the petrochemical giant Sibur and Zarubezhneft.

LR presidential candidate Valérie Pécresse visits the Saint-James sweater factory on February 25, 2022 in Saint-James, Manche Sameer Al-DOUMY AFP

"It is a decision that honors him," she assured, because "Mr. Putin's attitude cannot be dissociated from that of the large Russian groups which are the backbone of the Russian state" .

© 2022 AFP