Julien Gabarron, departmental head of the RN, on the subject of Robert Ménard: “The divorce is complete”

Julien Gabarron : “Ce n'est pas une attaque, c'est une clarification.” Midi Libre – Mélissa Alcoléa

Le Biterrois, nouveau responsable départemental du RN, tient à clarifier sans équivoque la position de son parti à l'égard du couple Ménard. Cela notamment après les sorties médiatiques du maire de Béziers concernant le positionnement du RN sur la Russie.  

From Biterrois, IT sales manager, Julien Gabarron, 43, was also at the head of the Le Plaza bar for around ten years. Guided by the values ​​of the Gaullist social right, a time in the UMP, he joined the RN in 2021, judging that the party best embodies today & quot;the classic right."

What are your political ambitions ? 

I am a link in the chain, I am committed to a cause, without particular ambition, and I am making a service offer to my comrades in the National Rally. Before having an ambition, I have a mission: to ensure that the RN is as strong as possible in the department. We have very important elections in June (the European elections, editor's note). Depending on what I manage to do as a departmental delegate, we will see if I am called upon by the voters. In western Hérault, we have a very strong electoral base: we have to be able to talk to these voters, who may have been a little troubled, here in Béziers. And we'll see afterwards, if there's any has an ambition that comes. My political motivation is not based on ambition. My life is made, I am fulfilled, I don't need politics to live, I do this on a voluntary basis. Either I have results and I can claim to do something else. Either it doesn't work and I won't hold on to that. But I'm hoping for a very big score in the Europeans, in favor of Jordan Bardella. 

You are fully leading this electoral campaign ? 

Yes. It begins on March 3 in Marseille, we have a big meeting with Jordan Bardella and Marine Le Pen. We are expecting 6,000 people. We are the only party at the national and local level to lead this campaign. 

You said that the Béziers voters of the RN were troubled… Robert Ménard also spoke this week on BFM to express his complete disagreement with the RN on certain points, he also recalled that he would not vote for the RN in the European elections. What is your reaction ?  

On this intervention, we are not near an excess. But who speaks ? The Robert Ménard of the first mandate, of the second ? He spends a lot of time on the sets… Basically, he had already clearly noted the distances he was taking with the National Rally last November (speaking on Jordan Bardella Editor's note). As for his comments on the agricultural crisis (and the political opportunism of the RN on this subject Editor's note) : we have two deputies&nbsp ;who do a wonderful job on agriculture. We have no lessons to learn about the involvement of the RN in the agricultural world. 

And what is the position of the departmental RN with regard to the Ménards, RN which until now had supported them directly or indirectly by not positioning a candidate opposite ?

This is not a departmental position, I am the voice of the RN, of headquarters, of Jordan Bardella here in the sector. The positioning of the RN was done in reaction to the positions of Robert Ménard. My predecessor (Frédéric Bort Editor's note) and myself, we always said that we were ready to discuss with Robert Ménard, to clarify our positions together and why not, continue a partnership. Because the election of Robert Ménard is the support of the RN. It's not the other way around. Between the first and second mandate, he took a Macronist turn. But he was not appointed to the government. Today he clarified his position, I think the divorce is complete. 

This means that there will be an RN candidate during the next elections, and in particular for the municipal elections in Béziers ?& nbsp;

We are working on it. There's no point in commenting now. We are still far from these deadlines. We are fully focused on the Europeans, if we manage to achieve a strong score here in the Europeans, it will raise vocations. My goal is to go beyond Béziers, throughout the department, to identify potential candidates. There are a lot of people joining us (the 6th constituency would have some 200 members, the department 1500 Editor's note). To be able to anchor our local presence, it is important that we have local elected officials. In Béziers in particular, the divorce is complete. It is therefore a desire of headquarters to mark the breaking point. We absolutely had to react. 

Hence a leaflet distributed in Biterrois at the start of the year, meaning "If you vote Ménard, you vote Macron& quot;…

This is a need for information. In Béziers, we consider that there are up to 16,000 voters who voted for Marine Le Pen and for Robert or Emmanuelle Ménard. We need to inform these people that when they vote for Robert or Emmanuelle Ménard, they no longer support the values ​​of the RN. And there is no personal adventure, everything involves very strong communication with headquarters. This communication in reaction with Robert Ménard happened naturally, in validation with the party headquarters and its general management. This is not a spur-of-the-moment departmental initiative. And that's not an attack, it's a clarification. 

But we don't hear Marine Le Pen defending the same position today…

I think she has other matters to discuss. It is better that she talks to the French, about our guidelines, concrete proposals, etc. 

Several Béziers municipal councilors, the majority of them Robert Ménard, are members of the RN. What do you tell them ? 

I am in contact with them, they are surprised. It's always the choice of reason or the choice of the heart. Today, they are in the majority, they trusted Robert Ménard, they are also a little disappointed. It's not my role to ask them to resign or take a stand. But I'm here to inform them. It's the end of the mandate. I don't care about that mandate, I'm in the post-2026 period. 

Robert Ménard: “We were never married”

"For there to be a divorce, there would have to have been a marriage", reacts Robert Ménard. “But, we've never been married. We never belonged to the RN, we don't ask them anything. However, in the last presidential elections, they were quite happy that there was a call to vote for Marine Le Pen, in the first and second rounds. I challenge him to find another politician who has done this outside of his party. And we never hid our disagreements. Their position on economic and social issues resembles those of LFI more than those of the right. On the international level, they have a real Russian tropism that we have never had. Because we have defended human rights throughout the world and in Ukraine, there is an aggressor and an attacked. The rest is a political game, they will change according to needs and electoral necessities. We do nothing other than say what we think without worrying about what others think. It is our freedom not to be in any party. It's also a weakness because we are alone in relation to the political forces." "And if they want present a candidate (the RN has not positioned a candidate against the Ménards since 2014 Editor's note),they're doing it. We have no agreement. There are no exchanges, discussions or negotiations. Furthermore, Julien Gabarron never introduced himself to me. And I'm not sure that his feeling reflects that of the RN activists… He needs to exist. But I believe that reason will prevail both locally and nationally." 

 

"I will receive it without problem"

"And then  this boy has nothing better to do ? People need to be more divided ?", adds the mayor of Béziers . "I have other concerns as mayor of Béziers and president of Biterrois. That's just the game of politics." A game that Robert Ménard also knows how to play well! "I manage the city and I play politics based on my experience of everyday management", he explains . "I will receive Julien Gabarron, like all political leaders, without problem." To the wise.& nbsp; 

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