Centre-right aspiring candidate Ciotti ‘shares views’ with far-right

Valérie Pécresse and Éric Ciotti were the winners of the first round of the vote to elect the right-wing candidate to run in the 2022 presidential elections that took place on Thursday. Ciotti, however, has said he shares views with the far-right.

Éric Ciotti received 25.59% of the vote, Valérie Pécresse, president of Ile-de-France, 25%, against 23.93% for Michel Barnier, 22.36% for Xavier Bertrand and 3.13% for Philippe Juvin.

Xavier Bertrand, the favourite to win, was eliminated, along with Michel Barnier and Philippe Juvin.

Recently, Ciotti announced that he shared “the observation made by Eric Zemmour, in many respects”.

On Thursday, following his victory, he said he wanted “to place this campaign under the sign of truth, the truth about the situation of a country in the process of decline, of decline; on the clarity of alliances: never any alliance, yesterday, today and tomorrow, with Macronism”.

“I am the only one who can beat Emmanuel Macron. I know what the difficult battles are, I know how to win them, I am a woman who wins and who does”, said Pécresse at her campaign headquarters.

Asked about the results at a press conference, far-right candidate Marine Le Pen welcomed the defeat of Bertrand, “the only candidate who has always expressed hostility, even hatred, towards the RN and myself”.

The runoff, which ballots 140,000 members, starts on Friday at 8 am. The final result will be announced on Saturday at around 2 pm by party president Christian Jacob.

(Clara Bauer-Babef | EURACTIV.fr)