Another Var candidate: what if he were the next President of the Republic?

"If it doesn't materialize in 2027, I'll try in 2032, then in 2037..." It's hard to be more determined than David Lapendry, a 47-year-old from Valletta. His goal? To be President of the Republic. "I think I have a 10% chance of making it," he says, smiling. However, his project is very serious, as is that of Clément Didi , another Valletta resident, who presented us with his detailed program for reaching the Élysée. "I want to change capitalist society in depth," announces our new Var candidate, the representative of Génération.s, a humanist movement founded in 2017 by Benoît Hamon.

His particularity? Suffering from Little's syndrome, an infantile cerebral palsy that reduces his motor skills, David Lapendry receives only €1,100 per month in assistance for disabled adults (AAH) and the increase for independent living (MVA). This places him below the poverty line, established by INSEE at €1,216 for a single person. "I don't live anymore, I survive," confides this single person who lives in public housing. "And I can't take it anymore." Hence his first measure, if elected: to implement a universal basic income of around €1,300, 100% combinable with another income capped at €1,700. And with a decreasing portion beyond that. "While some politicians swear by the value of work, as if it were a religion, it can be extremely destructive for people who are unable to work," continues the man who obtained a vocational certificate in accounting before taking a computer training course.

Economic decline "in useless areas," adapted psychological support for students in distress, and ecological measures are among his other projects. This includes increasing police forces. "You can be left-wing and talk about security," says the man who is also considering a municipal candidacy in La Valette, where he has lived for several years after a stopover in Hyères. "I grew up in a rough neighborhood of Toulon, where when I saw the police, I was happy."

The first barriers

His presidential ambition was born in 2011, during the left-wing primaries. An activist in the Socialist Party, he wanted to be part of it. "At the PS 83 level, I was told it was nonsense, that it was impossible," he reports. "But why should it only be reserved for people at the top of the bill?" Disappointed by François Hollande's arrival in power, he resigned in the first year of his five-year term. And put his dream aside. "I stopped saying I wanted to be President so as not to be even more isolated," regrets the forty-year-old. Until the election of Emmanuel Macron, whom he describes as a "bad President": "He's too much into capitalism, too much into successocracy."

In 2022, David Lapendry took a first step toward changing the course of political history. To launch his candidacy, he created a website, a YouTube channel, and a TikTok account. He failed to generate any buzz. "It was a total failure," he admits. "No journalist was interested in me. You can have the best platform in the world, but if no one knows you..." His last hope at the time? Launch a petition targeting mayors, MPs, senators, regional and departmental councilors, and presidents of metropolitan areas... in order to secure at least one of the 500 necessary sponsors. "Does a common man in France have a real chance of running in a presidential election?" he asks in the preamble. "Even Geneviève Levy (a Var MP at the time, Editor's note), who seemed to like me, didn't give me her signature," laments this activist, who entered politics in 2002, when Jean-Marie Le Pen reached the second round of the presidential election.

Integrated into Génération.s, few gave him credit. "When I announced my intentions during a regional video conference, the host gave him a dirty look," recalls David Lapendry. "It went very badly." This was followed by his resignation from the party, then his return a few months later as the Hyères representative for a dissident group, before being promoted to co-coordinator of the Var region in early 2024.

Updated ideas

Since then, his platform has evolved. "I'm for the Sixth Republic. We saw the left win the last legislative elections, but we have a right-wing government. It's too much of a mess," he laments. "Macron doesn't care about traditions. So we should change the law so that this can't happen again." Another idea is a majority vote, otherwise multi-choice, in order to vote for "one's favorite candidate rather than opting for a useful vote."

All that remains is to convince the Paris authorities. "Two months ago, I wrote a letter to Hella Kribi-Romdhane, the national coordinator of Génération.s, to inform her of my candidacy," says David Lapendry. "I'm still waiting for her response." Not enough to discourage him. His favorite quote? That of his mentor, Che Guevara: "Let's be realistic: let's demand the impossible." And then, if the Élysée Palace falls through, this Varois has a plan B: becoming a deputy to "change the laws" and writing a book about his story. Not so impossible after all.