Presidential 2022: In Toulon, Marion Maréchal to the rescue of Eric Zemmour – 20 Minutes

From our journalist in Toulon,

Under a timid sun, a small troop awaits him impatiently. It’s not yet noon, Eric Zemmour descends on the Provençal market of Mourillon, south of Toulon. Embroiled in controversies over the war in Ukrainethe candidate for the presidential 2022 offers this Sunday a breath of fresh air on the Mediterranean coast. Barely out of his sedan, the boss of the Reconquest party is swallowed by a horde of journalists and curious people.

He immediately dodges questions about his probing erosion since the Russian invasion and brushes aside the criticisms of his opponents, who consider him “disqualified” by his former Vladimir Putin appeal. “I’m not going to answer like that in a market. You know, people who say I’m disqualified have been saying the same thing to me for years. [sur la Russie]so they would have to look a little at home, ”he blurts out between two selfies.

“Where is Marion? »

This Sunday morning, Eric Zemmour does not want to dwell on the subject, because his refusal to welcome Ukrainian refugees has caused a stir. even in his own camp. Maybe he doesn’t want to talk too much about the revelations either. from World and JDD this week-end about his former ties with Vladimir Yakunin, a close associate of the Kremlin. The identity candidate prefers to discuss the strawberries, clementines or cheese that he tastes during his stroll. A merchant questions him about the loss of an AOP.

“Me, I want to win back everything, even the millstone of Savoie”, he replies amused. Many flock to greet or kiss the former CNews star. But a little away, an elderly lady is worried. “Where is Marion? “. Because Eric Zemmour is in Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur, this Sunday, also to stage the announced rallying of Marion Maréchal, ex-Le Pen, to his campaign. The event is scheduled a few hours later, during a meeting at the Zenith.

“I’m not going to lie to you, it was difficult to make this decision”

The honor of announcing the defector is left to Philippe de Villiers at the end of the afternoon, in front of some 8,000 people. “In this duel with Emmanuel Macron, there is a surprise, it is coming! Imagine a silhouette, she is blonde like a mermaid, she is beautiful, upright and conquering. She chose Provence, cicadas, lavender and rosemary. She chose Toulon. She chose Zemmour! », Launches the former Secretary of State and boss of Puy-du-Fou. White-hot activists are standing, French flags in hand.

After five years of absence, the former member of the National Front is making her big political comeback in the hope of relaunching the campaign of the identity candidate, who has resumed his strategy of “union of the rights”. “I’m not going to lie to you, it was difficult to make this decision. My political past, my professional responsibilities, my family ties, did not make this choice obvious. But five years ago I left with a feeling of discouragement, with the impression that we were the useful idiots of the backup of the system”, she says at the outset.

“I again believe victory is possible. Eric Zemmour is the best placed in this election, it’s not a question of polls, but politics is a dynamic, it’s bridges that are built, it’s a skill that asserts itself, “adds- her, while her aunt Marine Le Pen is the best placed in the latest polls.

“My dear Marion, I always had the intuition that one day we were going to fight together”

A few minutes later, Eric Zemmour takes over on the stage. He thrashes his adversaries and rectifies his position on Ukrainian refugees. Those who “prefer to come to France, for example because they have ties there or are French-speaking, we have to welcome them until the bombings stop”. But the candidate is above all very happy to present his new ally. “My dear Marion, we have known each other for so long, I always had the intuition that one day we were going to fight together for France. Marion, whom the whole right was waiting for, and we are the ones who welcome her. That all of France wanted to hear, and this is where she speaks. That all patriots love, and it is us that she joins! “.

The former columnist of Figaro knows that she can be useful to him in the fratricidal war he is waging with Marine Le Pen to qualify in the first round. On Saturday, the candidate of the National Rally preferred to be ironic about the rallying of her niece: a “lifeline” of a campaign “in the process of collapsing”.