Robert Ménard is difficult to follow. The mayor of Béziers (Hérault) elected for the first time in 2014 with the support of the National Front, which has long called for a union between Marine Le Pen and Eric Zemmour, who distributed, in 2016, a poster showing migrants with the remark “That’s it, they’re coming…”now has ” shame ” some of his past positions on immigration. He said it on Public Senate, Thursday, March 10. The day before, he confessed on LCI to have committed not a ” error “but a ” mistake “.
The mayor of Béziers explained his regrets in an interview given to L’Obs. “The posters that we made, the positions that were mine, especially during the war in Syria, ignored the necessary humanity that we must have in front of these people. It didn’t feel like me because my whole life is the opposite of that,” says the man who, before entering far-right politics and becoming mayor, was the boss of Reporters Without Borders for a long time.
“Excessive brutality”
According to Le Figarothe reception of Ukrainian refugees in his city helped to change his state of mind. “When I saw them there, I saw myself in 1962. That’s exactly what we experienced, for God’s sake! », said Mr. Ménard, a pied-noir repatriated from Algeria when he was 9 years old, according to comments reported by the newspaper. However, he remains firm about the reception. “I continue to plead for a chosen and controlled immigration”, he says to L’Obsbut according to him “we must distinguish the everyday situation (…) and the context of war”.
As for knowing who has his favors, Marine Le Pen or Eric Zemmour, the mayor of Béziers maintains a certain vagueness. In Le Figaro, he taunts the Reconquest candidate! in “ideologue of excessive brutality”. In L’Obshe assures that he does not want his presence in the second round… but would still call for a vote for him if he were there against Emmanuel Macron, for “loyalty” to its commitments.
Mr. Ménard’s political positioning has fluctuated for several months. Cantor for a long time of a union of the rights – which would start with the two far-right candidates, extending why not to Valérie Pécresse -, the mayor of Béziers has long said to himself «Ami» by Eric Zemmour. But her enthusiasm for him gradually waned.
At the beginning of September 2021, when the teams of the ex-controversy were looking for the first sponsorships of elected officials, Mr. Ménard had not appreciated being called not by Eric Zemmour in person, but by an elected official from Bouches-du-Rhône . However, the indelicacy seemed forgotten on October 16, when he received him in his city. Mr. Ménard then confessed to having ” bullshit “ by underestimating Eric Zemmour in favor of the candidate of the National Rally.
Later, three incidents had lowered his esteem. First, this pike from Mr. Zemmour against Marine Le Pen, on November 12: “She is cats, me is books. » “It is contempt! », had criticized Robert Ménard. Then, the presence of Mr. Zemmour in front of the Bataclan and the cameras, on November 13, seen by many as an attempt at political recovery from the attacks of 2015. “Maybe he lacks the experience of life”, had disapproved of Mr. Ménard on RMCadding – already – that “It ends up being scary, the words he says”. The middle finger addressed by Mr. Zemmour to an opponent, on November 27 in Marseilles, had not helped. According to Robert Menard, “It’s not very inelegant, it’s a scum gesture”.
“We are doomed to lose”
The mayor of Béziers approached Marine Le Pen at the beginning of 2022. On January 7, he in turn welcomed him to his city, for a twelve-hour long visit. He judged her “less divisive”more worthy of“embody the function” and more ” reasonable ” than previously. However, they did not hide their differences, for example on the vaccination pass, supported by Robert Ménard and contested by Mme The pen. On this occasion, the city councilor repeated once again his call for a meeting between the candidate of the RN and that of Reconquest!, so that one of the two withdraws in favor of the other.
A week later, on January 13, he seemed to be throwing in the towel. Noting, on Europe 1their rejection of such a hypothesis, Robert Ménard accused them of being “the most suicidal right in the world”. “They are so stupid! (…) We are screwed to lose the elections because of their ego, their stables, their parties”, he regretted. He was not, however, disillusioned to the point of refusing his sponsorship to one of the two competitors. The Constitutional Council registered it on February 10 for the benefit of Marine Le Pen.
As for the head of state, the main de facto rival of the two far-right candidates, Robert Ménard has said good things about it several times. In October 2021, for example, on the occasion – once again – of a visit to Béziers, where Emmanuel Macron had come to talk about reindustrialisation. “I am one of the few to pay tribute to the Head of State when he makes good decisions, Mr. Ménard then congratulated him. I don’t say to myself “Ah, damn it, he’s going to win the elections”, but “What a chance for France”. » The war in Ukraine seems to have reinforced this feeling. President “does the job”, thus declared Robert Ménard, Thursday on Public Sénat, to the point that, these days, “we have to be behind him”.