Ukraine: Castex receives presidential candidates at Matignon

Europe 1 with AFP 12:02 p.m., February 28, 2022

Prime Minister Jean Castex is due to receive the main presidential candidates at 3 p.m. Monday at Matignon for a meeting to follow up on the conflict in Ukraine "and the decisions taken by France and the European Union to respond to it", indicated Prime Minister's office.

The head of government will be accompanied by the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Jean-Yves Le Drian, the Minister for the Armed Forces, Florence Parly, as well as the government spokesperson, Gabriel Attal.

Applicants with more than 300 invited sponsorships

Only declared candidates who have collected at least 300 sponsorships have been invited, said Matignon.

Marine Le Pen, Valérie Pécresse, Eric Zemmour, Yannick Jadot, Fabien Roussel, Nicolas Dupont-Aignan, Anne Hidalgo, Jean Lassalle confirmed their presence, while the Lutte Ouvrière candidate, Nathalie Arthaud, declined the invitation. .

The case of Jean-Luc Mélenchon, on the other hand, has not yet been decided: the Insoumis intended to be represented by the deputy Bastien Lachaud, but Matignon clarified that the invitation only concerned the candidates.

Taubira laments 'discovering this rule'

Christiane Taubira, who was not invited for having collected only 130 sponsorships during the last count of the Constitutional Council on Thursday, lamented "discovering this rule".

"Not content with giving its sponsorship to the far right, the presidential majority therefore prefers to discuss the international situation with its representatives, who are also admirers of the Russian president," castigated his campaign team.

On Friday, Jean Castex had received the presidents of groups from the Assembly and the Senate, as well as the presidents of the Defense and Foreign Affairs committees, and several members of the government, as part of a "parliamentary liaison committee" .

All this before a debate in Parliament - without a vote - on Tuesday.