Aurélien Pradié, 36, deputy for Lot, is one of the three candidates for the presidency of the Les Républicains party. He wants to be the embodiment of the next generation of the traditional French right, in a bad position in the face of the rise of macronism on the one hand, and of the extreme right on the other.
His ideas, however, remain very representative of the democratization of the current of nationalist thought… Saying that he disagrees with the prism of identity reading, he nevertheless militates for the ban on the wearing of the veil in public space and wishes to establish the uniform for students, from primary to higher education.
The Secretary General of LR had made himself one of the 6 spokespersons for Valérie Pécresse during her presidential campaign. His commitment to the party dates from his first political debut. Indeed, he was president of the Youth of the UMP du Lot in 2007, at the tender age of 21. Aurélien Pradé also claims to be the heir of chiraquismo, and wants to be the main representative of the social wing of the French right.
It is true that his favorite subjects denote the usual fights of the Republicans, or of the UMP before them. The themes related to disability, poverty, and family violence are recurrent in his speech as in his political initiatives. For him, “the right is that: humanist, supportive and social”, as reported by our colleagues from Le Point.
A humanism and a solidarity which seem to remain quite relative, given the fact that the young deputy affirmed during the televised debate on November 21 that he wanted to “halve the volume of immigration” and have the offense of smuggling recognized by the Court International Criminal. His competitor for the presidential election LR Eric Ciotti also hammered on LCI: “no rights for illegal immigrants, no housing, no allowances, no school”. It is true that, compared to this kind of talk, the bar of solidarity is not placed very high.
His interest in issues of inclusion of people with disabilities is in fact at the root of his political approach. Indeed, it was his father who would have been the trigger…
In 2007, the father of MP Lotois suffered a stroke, following which he became paraplegic. Aurélien Pradié claims to have experienced difficulty with his father’s illness, a trauma which would have resulted in forging his political commitment.
Indeed, he declares that his role is “to make progress on difficult subjects. This applies to disability, to domestic violence on which I have worked, this also applies to poverty, on which I am working”, as reported by our colleagues from La Dépêche.
On his personal life in the broader sense, he is more discreet, especially with regard to his situation as a couple.
The young deputy of Lot is in a relationship, perhaps even in the household, with a woman. However, it remains extremely discreet, according to our colleagues here. Indeed, she does not show herself at his side on the electoral posters.
The politician has also painted an image that has become his trademark, that of the young “cool” rebel…
In 2008, at the age of 22, Aurélien Pradié campaigned to be elected general councilor of Lot… on a moped! In his native land often considered as traditionally left-wing, his initiative is a hit, and he then becomes the second youngest general councilor in France, only a few months ahead of Jean Sarkozy. A detail that he omits in the “course” tab of his website…
A claimed fan of Jacques Chirac since he was 14, he has everything to perfect the image of the ambitious young rebel, who does not allow himself to be stepped on. He openly declares to Le Parisien: “everything that concerns discipline pisses me off”. A surfer in his spare time, he also practices running, two solitary hobbies, as reported by L’Obs.