Presidential: Fabien Roussel maintains his candidacy, Édouard Philippe calls for a rally

Almost a week after being nominated as a presidential candidate by communist activists, Fabien Roussel does not intend to withdraw. Asked at the microphone of BFMTV about a possible withdrawal on his part in the face of multiple left-wing candidates, the secretary general of the Communist Party has responded since the Humanity Day that “never” he will withdraw.

“I will always be on the side of the people and those who defend their dignity,” insisted the mayor of Saint-Amand-les-Eaux.

The two candidates and part of their teams experienced from the inside the right-wing primary in 2016, which saw the outsider beat the favorite by surprise. Philippists try to put these bad memories at bay, while retailists dream of this surprise repeating itself.

The Socialist Party and the Public Place party are organizing their primary, which does not convince the environmentalist presidential candidate, present this Saturday at the “Fête de l’Humanité”.

“There is still one family in our political camp who has not yet decided which candidate they will have. And even at the end of their primary, it may not be as clear as that,” she told a few journalists. “So the game is not yet exactly settled in this election, we know that it will not be like any other,” she added.

Traveling to Moselle at Terres de Jim, at the gathering of Young Farmers, Édouard Philippe defended on Saturday the gathering of the right and the center with a view to the presidential election, ensuring that he was not “in the excitement” vis-à-vis his rivals. He returned to his “initiative” to “reach out” to Gabriel Attal and Bruno Retailleau. Both the Renaissance candidate and the LR candidate have so far refused this meeting proposal.

“I say that I am mayor of Le Havre, and that in all the municipalities of France, when the right and the center present themselves together, they win. When they win, it’s because they are united. I say the same thing for the presidential election,” argued the former Prime Minister of Emmanuel Macron (2017-2020), from the right.

“Everyone has their differences, has their political identity and can say what they believe. But in the end, we have to take our responsibilities and we could talk to each other, not to give up on one or the other, simply to talk to each other and look at what comes next, to see what brings us together and what we can build on,” observed Mayor Horizons of Le Havre.

“I’m not a man in a hurry. I started my campaign a long time ago, I knew the hare and the tortoise. Men in a hurry exist. In general, it’s often too hasty,” he asserted.

This Saturday, many political meetings are expected. At La Fête de l'Humanité, the two radical left presidential candidates, Jean-Luc Mélenchon and Fabien Roussel, must each speak, the first hoping in particular to harvest the communist vote.

The National Rally makes its parliamentary return to the Palais des Congrès du Touquet. Marine Le Pen and Jordan Bardella are both expected.

The Reconquête summer university opens this Saturday in Port-Marly, in the presence of Éric Zemmour and Sarah Knafo.

François Hollande went to the historic Rose Festival in Frangy-en-Bresse (Saône-et-Loire), part of a socialist tradition that dates back more than 50 years.

In Épreville-en-Lieuvin (Eure), the apple festival is organized by Hervé Morin with the President of the ECB Christine Lagarde as guest.