The day after the suspension of his functions within the National Rally (RN)the MEP and leading member of the far-right party, Nicolas Bay, announced on Wednesday 16 February that he “fully committed” with the presidential candidate, Eric Zemmour.
“I have decided to fully commit myself alongside Eric Zemmour in the presidential campaign, because I deeply believe in his candidacy, his project and his strategy”says the MEP in an interview at Figaro. Accused by the RN of “disloyalty”Nicolas Bay explains that the “true infidelity” with regard to voters is “Renounce denouncing the straightjacket of the European Court of Human Rights, at the exit from Schengen, at the end of dual nationality, accept PMA without a father”.
“Turnarounds and setbacks”
“These multiple reversals and setbacks have contributed to demobilizing our voters and constitute, for once, a real infidelity towards them”, he believes. Marine Le Pen, who criticizes the “brutality” proposals from Eric Zemmour, “confuses extremism and radicalism”.
“When our country is on the brink of the abyss, the measures to be implemented are necessarily radical. I don’t think that we will eradicate Islamism from Roubaix or that we will liberate the northern districts of Marseille from drug traffickers with half measures., adds Mr. Bay. And to assert:
“By constantly seeking to appease the moral left, I think that we are making a political error but also a tactical one. And we now see that the candidacy of Marine Le Pen arouses a certain indifference. »
Many departures from the RN to Eric Zemmour
Prior to this announcement, Mr.me Le Pen judged on Wednesday evening on LCI that Mr. Bay “could no longer[rester à ses côtés]from the moment when people behave badly, when they are disloyal”. “I don’t mind him leaving, but why stay in the countryside as long as possible to sabotage the countryside from within and end up having a movie and leaving? »added the far-right candidate, claiming to have “made his career”.
“Behaviour like that makes people stop voting”, she said. The RN accuses Nicolas Bay of “sabotage” for having transmitted information to the rival of Marine Le Pen, which the MEP refutes. Mme Le Pen assured on LCI to have ” the elements “ but refused to make them public. Without naming him, Marine Le Pen had on Tuesday “asked those who operate the slug strategy to kindly speed up their departures (…) because the slug is slow but also sticky”.
Three MEPs – Jérôme Rivière, Gilbert Collard and Maxette Pirbakas – joined candidate Eric Zemmour, followed on Sunday by the sole RN senator Stéphane Ravier, as well as several regional advisers.