LR Presidency: Retailleau wants to change the name of a party "confiscated by Parisian feather hats"

Bruno Retailleau wears two hats. The Minister of the Interior is also a candidate for the presidency of the Republican Party, which will elect its new leader in mid-May. A "match" that has tripled the party's membership, as the Republican right has felt itself growing wings in recent months.

Bruno Retailleau thus highlights the LR's good results in the by-elections, particularly in Val-de-Marne, where the right-wing candidate unexpectedly beat Louis Boyard in Villeneuve-Saint-Georges. "We were in a bad way, we were the living dead, more than six months ago," Bruno Retailleau emphasized in an interview with the Grandes Gueules this Thursday, May 1st.

The Interior Minister continues to be criticized by his opponent for his position in government, which prevents him from advancing any right-wing ideas within the executive. "Laurent participated in the collective decision to join the government," recalls Bruno Retailleau.

"The French right want a right that takes action, that is useful, that gets its hands dirty, despite the less-than-ideal situation," he believes.

"Do we love our country, or do we prefer our party? I will always prefer my country, I am a patriot. France first," he says—a refrain reminiscent of Donald Trump's "America First"—assuming he is a "political, not a technocratic" minister.

"If one day I felt that my beliefs were being hindered, I would obviously leave the government," he said.

Regarding the name of the party "Les Républicains," which was changed in 2015 (formerly the UMP), Bruno Retailleau explains that he "wants to change it," without specifying the name. "Even if I knew, I wouldn't say it; I'm keeping it to myself," he laughs.

"We need to change from top to bottom," he continues. "If we want to have a great party, it has to be democratic. I want to give the party back to its members; it has been hijacked by a few Parisian elected officials. I want to hold referendums on major decisions," he proposes.

"We've been repeating the same ideas too often. Give me a single idea that the right has invented in recent years? None," he counters, promising that if elected, he will devote "all his energy to inventing new ideas."

"First, I need to unite my political family. And then, I need to unite the French people," he concludes. Eyes on 2027?

Also responding to the controversies of recent days, he assures that he has "absolutely no" problem with Islam.

"I have a problem with Islamism," he says. "I fight it."

"We must be uncompromising because Islamism refutes the French model, the republican model. It considers the Quran to be above the law of the Republic. But I also say that I am fighting to ensure that the principle of secularism is respected and that freedom of worship is preserved, particularly with regard to our Muslim compatriots," he asserts, adding that he is also in favor of banning the veil at university.

"I hope so," he says clearly. "There is an Islamism that is trying to establish its own banner, its own values, the inferiority of women compared to men..."

Regarding the OQTF issue, Laurent Wauquiez believes that "nothing is being done" and calls out his opponent for the LR presidency. Bruno Retailleau also responded to his rival. He assures that international agreements for forced returns have been signed, and that EU directives preventing their expulsion are on the way to "success."

"We need to crack down on visas, trade agreements, and customs duties," he said. "The 27 European countries agree to establish this balance of power on visas and customs duties," he asserted.