Europe 1 with AFP 11:20 a.m., February 27, 2022

The president of the Agir group in the National Assembly, Olivier Becht, called on Valérie Pécresse on Sunday to "sweep into her own camp" after the LR presidential candidate estimated that Marine Le Pen, Eric Zemmour and Jean-Luc Mélenchon are "discredited for governing France" because of their pro-Russian positions.

LR candidate Valérie Pécresse, for whom Marine Le Pen, Eric Zemmour and Jean-Luc Mélenchon are "discredited for governing France" because of their pro-Russian positions, should "sweep into her own camp", Olivier argued on Sunday. Becht, president of the Agir group in the National Assembly, an ally of the majority.

The deputy added to this list of three candidates cited by Valérie Pécresse the name of deputy Eric Ciotti, one of his lieutenants in this presidential campaign: "a few weeks ago he asked that France withdraw from the integrated command of NATO and gets closer to Vladimir Putin's Russia on the grounds that they were Christians," Olivier Becht told franceinfo.

So "Ms. Pécresse would be well advised to start sweeping in her own camp", he concluded.

Eric Ciotti had pleaded in September for the exit of France from the integrated command of NATO "as General de Gaulle did in 1966" and wished for the "revision" of its "international alliances, in particular with Russia, the rupture with Moscow decided by François Hollande" being, according to him, "stupid and contrary to our interests".

"More Europe and better Europe"

In the midst of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Olivier Becht also argued that the "great replacement" at work would not be that of the conspiracy theory of the same name, defended by Eric Zemmour, but a "replacement between democrats and dictators with tanks".

"It is important that those who are very clearly in the camp of the democrats and the lovers of freedom make it known, and the French will be very interested in the positioning of each other" a month and a half from the first round of presidential election, he said.

Because "it is this camp that will allow France to stand up straight in Europe", he added.

"Mélenchon, Ciotti, Le Pen, Zemmour, all these people want less Europe", attacked Olivier Becht again.

"Now the lesson to be learned from this crisis today is that we don't need less Europe, but more Europe and better Europe," he said.