In an interview with Le Monde, Xavier Bertrand, Les Républicains president of the Hauts-de-France region, denounces the idea of an alliance between the right and the far right. He urges his party to remember its history, citing Nicolas Sarkozy and Jacques Chirac. At 60, he aims to embody a republican and social right for the 2027 presidential election.
Xavier Bertrand, an unsuccessful candidate in the Républicains primary in December 2021, recently published a book titled Rien n’est jamais écrit (Robert Laffont, 408 pages, 21.90 euros). In the autumn, at age 60, he recounts his journey and defends a Gaullist vision of the right, closed to any alliance with the Rassemblement national (RN).
Questioned on Nicolas Sarkozy's recent statements, in which he assured Marine Le Pen he would not call for a republican front against the RN in the next legislative elections, Bertrand responds firmly. “When Nicolas Sarkozy writes that the political future of LR will pass through 'a break with part of its history,' he is wrong,” he states. He reminds that Sarkozy, whom he describes as “of mixed blood,” won the 2007 election by fighting the far right, just as Jacques Chirac did before him.
Bertrand sees the RN's gestures of support toward Sarkozy, amid a difficult period for the former president, as deliberate manipulation. “They are deceiving him on purpose. But I have no doubt, he will eventually see clearly and return to the shores of our political family,” he asserts. For him, the real danger facing the RN lies in defeatism within his own camp.
This stance comes amid internal tensions in the Républicains, where the idea of a rapprochement with the far right is stirring the party. Bertrand continues to promote a “republican and social” right, with an eye on the 2027 presidential election.
