Éric Ciotti and François-Xavier Bellamy were smiling on Tuesday, March 19, when announcing the presence on the Les Républicains (LR) list, for the European elections of June 9, of General Christophe Gomart. A former soldier in politics is not that common. And for a party which intends to embody order and discipline, while contesting the strategic choices of the Head of State in matters of defense, to be able to count on such a personality for its first major campaign meeting, Saturday March 23 in Aubervilliers , north of Paris, is necessarily good news.

So much so that LR rushed to communicate on social networks with a photo of Christophe Gomart in uniform, which is however strictly prohibited.

🇫🇷 General Christophe Gomart, former director of military intelligence and former special operations commander, joins the Republican list led by @fxbellamy and @CelineImart for the European election. pic.twitter.com/Zi8YlfvvMH

— les Républicains (@lesRepublicains) March 19, 2024

Since the announcement of the wish of Arnaud Danjean, formerly of the DGSE, not to renew his mandate as MEP, LR was looking for a profile similar to his own. Christophe Gomart, retired general since 2017, ticks even more boxes: former paratrooper, national intelligence coordinator at the Élysée from 2008 to 2011 under Nicolas Sarkozy, commander of special operations from 2011 to 2013, director of military intelligence from 2013 to 2017… The legitimacy of Christophe Gomart on France's military commitments and aid to Ukraine, in particular, can hardly be contested.

The 63-year-old candidate, placed in third position on the LR list, did not waste time. Guest on RTL on Thursday morning, he shot his first arrows at Emmanuel Macron. “Fewer words, more ammunition. President Zelensky is not asking for Western troops on his soil, he is asking for ammunition each time and nothing else in reality. (…) This is what is needed today the Ukrainians from my point of view,” said Christophe Gomart.

#Ukraine: "Zelensky is not asking for Western troops on his soil, he is asking for ammunition"



General Christophe Gomart, former director of military intelligence and special forces, 3rd on the #LR list of Europeans, guest of @amandine_begot in #RTLMatin pic.twitter.com/MijbIi6ENU

— RTL France (@RTLFrance) March 21, 2024

The former general also criticized the lack of resources from which, in his eyes, the French army suffers. "It's good to have words of firmness, but that doesn't follow. We don't make our own shells ourselves (...), so we can see that there is a need to rearm, but not just in words, to really and concretely rearm ourselves,” he insisted.

“He is the embodiment of the regalian”

His words will embody a vision at LR at a time when the war in Ukraine has been made a major theme of the European campaign by Emmanuel Macron, but also by Raphaël Glucksmann, the head of the Public Place-Socialist Party list. Thanks to General Gomart, the list carried by François-Xavier Bellamy wants to influence the debate.

"Christophe Gomart is the incarnation of the regalian. He was involved at the forefront military, at the heart of major crises in Afghanistan or Libya. While the war in Ukraine and strategic questions are essential today, he "It's a plus to have him with us. When it's him who talks about Ukraine, his words necessarily carry more weight because he was on the front line", believes the boss of senators LR Bruno Retailleau, who know well.

Read alsoEuropeans: Ukraine at the heart of the campaign, a risky strategy for Emmanuel Macron

Eric Ciotti's party has been facing the same difficulty since 2017: stuck between Renaissance and the National Rally (RN), its political space has, little by little, been nibbled away on its left and on its right. While François Fillon obtained 20.01% of the votes in the first round of the 2017 presidential election, Valérie Pécresse fell to 4.78% in 2022, while the number of LR deputies increased from 112 in 2017 to 61 in 2022.

However, the RN managed to attract to its list the former director of the Frontex agency, Fabrice Leggeri, who was also courted by LR. The arrival of Christophe Gomart at LR is therefore also a response to the far right. The latter did not fail to target Marine Le Pen's party during his first media outing, estimating that "the RN is not a party of responsibility" because it "abstained" from the National Assembly during the vote on France's support for Ukraine.

Help LR define “a vision and a strategy”

“From the start we were looking for a regal profile to replace Arnaud Danjean. We had actually initially thought of Fabrice Leggeri, but Christophe Gomart is a good pick and I would even say that his profile is more complete,” analyzes Bruno Retailleau, who adds that the former general will help the Republicans to define “a vision and a strategy” on military questions.

A regular on television sets and radio studios, Christophe Gomart began to reveal his ideas Thursday morning. He explained on RTL that it was necessary to "develop a European security architecture, that is to say a European pillar within NATO", allowing Europeans to be "capable among themselves of effectively waging a combat of high intensity in the face of an adversary who would attack us" and this even if "the Americans do not want to".

Read alsoEuropean elections: the challenges of a high-risk election

What convince the right-wing electorate to vote for the Republicans? François-Xavier Bellamy's list received 7% of voting intentions in the latest Ipsos poll published on March 11 by Le Monde – a poll carried out before the announcement of Christophe Gomart's political commitment.

The former general should actively participate in the European campaign, with trips to the field and meetings. He will notably be present, Saturday March 23, for the big meeting to launch the LR campaign in Aubervilliers, where he will speak.

"I'm entering politics. For me, it's a bit of a leap into the void, it's a real challenge, admitted Christophe Gomart Thursday morning. It's an opportunity for the classic right to reposition itself as a party of freedom and responsibilities."

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