As soon as he was appointed, a former supporter of Zemmour resigned from Sonia Backes’ cabinet – Le Figaro

Brieuc Frogier, a representative of Eric Zemmour in New Caledonia during the presidential campaign, resigned on Wednesday September 7 from the office of the Secretary of State for Citizenship, his appointment as special adviser having sparked a lively controversy. In a press release addressed to AFP, Brieuc Frogier explains that “several media have pointed out the support that (he) provided, several months ago, and for a few weeks, to Éric Zemmour”. of a political space“These accusations place my Minister in an uncomfortable situation, which I deeply regret. Because it is unthinkable for me to interfere with the action of Sonia Backès in which I have complete confidence, particularly for the future of New Caledonia, I have decided to present my resignation to her”, a- he added. Brieuc Frogier had been appointed special adviser to Sonia Backès from September 1, according to a decree published Wednesday in the Official Journal. His past as a former supporter of Eric Zemmour was revealed the same day by several media. Appointed in December 2021 as the representative in New Caledonia of Eric Zemmour’s “Reconquest” party, Brieuc Frogier explained that he did not “recognize himself not at all in the policy led by Emmanuel Macron in Metropolitan France” and that the far-right candidate was “the only one to draw up future prospects for Caledonia”. Brieuc Frogier, who today joined the non-independence coalition “Together!” claiming to be Emmanuel Macron, had withdrawn in March 2022 from the campaign of Eric Zemmour, to whom he had however granted his sponsorship. Close to Sonia Backès, he had been elected in 2019 to advise the southern province of New Caledonia on the right-wing union list headed by the Secretary of State, who has since chaired the executive of this community. Brieuc Frogier was first a member of the Rassemblement-Les Républicains (local version of the Republicans), the party of his father, Senator LR Pierre Frogier, signatory of the Nouméa agreement, before distancing himself from this historic formation of the non-independence movement. To read also Is France “world champion” of compulsory levies? His appointment to the cabinet of Sonia Backès was criticized on Wednesday by the number one of the PS, Olivier Faure, who wrote on Twitter: “ When the barriers fall… maddening to see how much the presidential party, which has made its fortune on the Republican front, has been increasing its hands extended to the exd (extreme right, editor’s note) since June. What conception of citizenship does he defend with this appointment? In a press release, SOS Racisme had asked Elisabeth Borne “to put an end to the presence of this individual in the cabinet of a member of his government”. “I was born in Nouméa, in the middle of a civil war. I was 7 years old when the drama of Ouvéa touched us”, wrote Brieuc Frogier in his press release. In 1988, the Matignon agreements had sealed the reconciliation between loyalists and separatists after several years of deadly violence in the archipelago, including the tragedy of the Ouvéa cave (21 dead). “Since my birth, I have been committed to building a territory where everyone finds their place, where two flags are proudly raised, where the Republic in its great generosity offers everyone a place and dignity”, he continued in this text reaffirming his “support for Emmanuel Macron in his action in particular on the Caledonian file”.