“Are you sleeping?” It’s 00:46 on Tuesday, July 2, and the ringing of the phone startled Babette de Rozières. At this time, the famous cooking show host turned “LR-RN” candidate is busy following her legislative campaign. She came third with 25.79% of the vote, behind Macronist Nadia Hai (29.32%) and Aurélien Rousseau (34.68%), the former Minister of Health now a candidate for the New Popular Front. The late-night message is signed by someone close to Emmanuel Macron, one of his unofficial advisors. She knows him well. He comes from the right, like her. He was a regional councilor in Ile-de-France under the presidency of Valérie Pécresse, like her. His name is Thierry Solère. No, Babette de Rozières is not sleeping. He calls him immediately, for sixteen minutes to talk to him about Yvelines but not only.
It must be said that the last soldiers of Macronie are licking their wounds after this first round of early legislative elections – wanted by Emmanuel Macron – and counting their wounded. More than a hundred Ensemble candidates have been swept away. So, the strategists of the Head of State are counting and recounting what can be saved, as best they can. The Yvelines, the last patch of Macronism to save: a majority of Ensemble deputies could get away with it on the evening of July 7, but the left has progressed and can win in three constituencies, including the seventh that Aurélien Rousseau is on the verge of winning. His resignation in 2023 after the vote on the immigration law, his candidacy, supported by Raphaël Glucksmann, under the banner of the New Popular Front, his interview with red bullets against Emmanuel Macron in our columns… In Macronie, we still consider this former chief of staff of Élisabeth Borne as a traitor to the cause.
“It depends what you want”
If Babette de Rozières does not withdraw, the three-way race could well be fatal to Emmanuel Macron’s candidate, Nadia Hai. This is therefore Thierry Solère’s mission: to convince his former friend to withdraw in the second round, whatever the cost. The strategists at the Élysée and Matignon believe that part of the LR and RN electorate may switch to the Ensemble candidates rather than a contender from the union of the left. On the phone, Solère explains to Rozières the state of the forces present in Yvelines. “What do you think is the solution for me?” she asks. And he, on the other end of the line, questions the future:
– It depends on what you want… If you want something and you propose something to me and ask me for something, I can see what we can do. The presidential majority has an interest in you withdrawing. If you withdraw, you can make the presidential majority win. If you stay, you will get the Popular Front elected (sic.)”
He is not the only one who wants to inquire about Babette de Rozières’ appetite. Maxime Cordier, a close friend of Gabriel Attal, is also active behind the scenes. The Prime Minister’s chief of staff wrote to her on Sunday evening: “Hello Babette, I hope you are well. What do you plan to do in your constituency?” She tried to call him back, in vain. The two know each other well. On April 25, 2022, Babette de Rozières sent him a message to be invested in the legislative elections. Last January, while Emmanuel Macron and Gabriel Attal were preparing the government reshuffle, she wrote to Maxime Cordier: “I can help him (Editor’s note: Attal) with Overseas if he wishes.”
“The stupidity and the conspiracy”
Contacted by L’Express, Maxime Cordier and Thierry Solère confirmed having contacted Babette de Rozières. The former denies having asked her to withdraw. Solère, for his part, denies any job haggling with the candidate supported by LR and the RN, whom he accuses of wanting to “show off”. “I asked her what she wanted to do electorally, who she wanted to favour in the second round. If she wants to work again in the central bloc in the Ile-de-France region, it’s not the same if she helps elect the New Popular Front”, the advisor told L’Express. The person concerned, who does not intend to withdraw her candidacy, rants against the methods of Emmanuel Macron’s close associates: “They are trying to bribe me but I don’t care about their positions! I am not for sale. Everyone threatens me, but I won’t give up!”
The 7th constituency of Yvelines, a land that arouses much covetousness in Macronie, no doubt because it was that of a certain Michel Rocard, one of Emmanuel Macron’s mentors. And who also said that when it comes to disasters, one should “always favor stupidity over conspiracy.”
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