Eric Ciotti’s results in the legislative elections will be closely scrutinized: the boss of LR alienated the majority of his party by launching an alliance with the National Rally.
Will Eric Ciotti save his seat in the National Assembly? One thing is certain, the boss of LR is running a notable campaign for the 2024 legislative elections. His announcement of an alliance with the National Rally, on June 12, caused an explosion which caused the Republicans to implode. Result: the party appears divided in the election. The outgoing deputy for the 1st constituency of Alpes-Maritimes is thus supported by the RN for his re-election, while the historic branch of LR presents its own candidate, Virgile Vanier, against him.
What results in Eric Ciotti’s constituency?
However, the latest electoral results for the Nice constituency are rather favorable to Eric Ciotti: the outgoing deputy was elected with 56.33% of the votes in the second round of the 2022 legislative elections, facing Macronist candidate Graig Monetti. In the 2024 European elections, the RN came first with 29.93% of the votes, far ahead of the list of the presidential majority, which only collected 13.34%. The left-wing parties, now united in the New Popular Front, obtained, between them, 29.41% of the votes on June 9.
In addition to Virgile Vanier (invested by LR), Eric Ciotti will face in the legislative elections Graig Monetti (presidential majority), Olivier Salerno (New Popular Front), Alain Langouet (LO), Jean-Claude Wahid Spach (REG), Maxime Bovis ( DIV) and Lalla Chama Ben Moulay (ECO).
Eric Ciotti targeted by investigation for embezzlement of public funds
Eric Ciotti must also face an investigation for embezzlement of public funds in the middle of the campaign. The investigation, opened on May 30, concerns possible irregularities during his 2022 legislative campaign, according to Franceinfo. The Nice public prosecutor’s office received a report from the Anticor association, concerning the misuse of parking cards from the port of Nice made available free of charge by the Chamber of Commerce and Industry for relatives of Eric Ciotti.
“It’s yet another stink ball thrown by a competing candidate, who lost the elections in 2022 and who is now the Anticor local correspondent,” responded Eric Ciotti’s campaign director on June 17. In January, another preliminary investigation for embezzlement of public funds was opened due to suspicions of multiple jobs at the Alpes-Maritimes departmental council, which may have benefited Eric Ciotti.
The exclusion of Eric Ciotti suspended by the courts
“The Paris judicial court has suspended my exclusion from the Republicans. I therefore continue to exercise my functions as president,” rejoiced Eric Ciotti on Friday June 14 on X after the court’s announcement. It is difficult to speak of a real outcome at Les Républicains as the situation remains complicated. A few hours after Eric Ciotti’s announcement of an alliance with the RN, Wednesday June 12, a political office voted unanimously to exclude him. But this political bureau had not been assembled according to the procedure provided for in the party statutes. Eric Ciotti therefore decided to ignore it and take legal action.
“Justice has spoken,” rejoiced Eric Ciotti on BFMTV on Friday. “I had no doubts because what was done was quite crude. You can’t just do anything, you can’t do DIY.” From now on, “it’s time for the campaign, it’s time for this alliance of the rights that I wanted so that tomorrow we beat the extreme left”, added the president of the Republicans while his camp has literally turned its back on him for several days.
Concretely, the court ordered Friday “the suspension of the effects of the two definitive exclusions pronounced against Éric Ciotti on June 12 and 14”, specifying however that this suspension was only valid “until the pronouncement of a decision at definitive basis”. The jurisdiction “on the merits” will be seized “within eight days” from June 14, the court indicated. As summarized on franceinfo by Eric Ciotti’s lawyer, this court decision is only an “interim decision”. A decision taken urgently, but which does not constitute a final judgment. To know the end of the story, we will have to wait “a year for the decision on the merits, and then a year later for the appeal”, estimated Mr. Philippe Torre, Eric Ciotti’s lawyer, on Franceinfo , affirming that the Republicans opposed to Eric Ciotti in this conflict “will multiply the procedures to agitate”.
What LR-RN alliance?
62 candidates in the legislative elections receive the double LR-RN nomination, Eric Ciotti announced this Monday, June 17. The alliance with Jordan Bardella’s party is continuing its course, away from the historic LR line and its candidates. Eric Ciotti will therefore not have an RN candidate facing him in the 1st constituency of the Alpes-Maritimes. He was followed in his movement by another deputy from the department, Christelle d’Intorni, as well as by the president of the Young Republicans, Guilhem Carayon, who is running in Tarn. The outgoing deputy Meyer Habib, in the 8th constituency of French people established outside France, is also following the movement. Also note the candidacy of several CNews columnists under this double nomination: Guillaume Bigot, Sébastien Laye, Philippe Fontana and Charles Prats. A former Macronist MP, Typhanie Degois, also joined the alliance and is running in Savoie.