Historically land of the PS, the 6e Gironde constituency in the hands of Macronie since 2017 made a shift during the European elections by adopting the RN list for the first time. A score which suggests the probability of a triangular in the second round of the legislative elections.
Le Figaro Bordeaux
The 6e Will the Gironde constituency, which covers Mérignac, Pessac and Bègles, swing to the nationalist right during the early legislative elections? A historic land of the left, held almost continuously by MP Michel Sainte-Marie (PS) since 1988 and then by socialist Marie Récalde from 2012, the constituency was swept up in the Macronie wave in 2017. Invested with this mandate since then, the outgoing MP Éric Poulliat (Renaissance) faces a new challenge at the time of the dissolution.
For the first time, it was Jordan Bardella’s (RN) list that came out on top in the European elections with 24.22% of the vote. Réveiller l’Europe, the PS list, came in second with 19.82% of the votes cast, leaving third place to Besoin d’Europe, the presidential majority list, with 17.59% of the vote. Figures which, when compared with the scores from the first round of the 2022 legislative elections (34.83% for Renaissance, 33.93% for Nupes and 14.87% for RN)suggest the possibility of a three-way race for the second round on July 7.
“A triangular has never been so possible”admits Éric Poulliat, who will also defend his mandate against Nicole Destouesse (Reconquête!), Franck Bonhomme (Miscellaneous centre), Jonathan Florit (ecologist) and Guillaume Perchet (Far left). But the outgoing MP hopes that the high turnout expected on Sunday – estimated at 66% in the latest projections from Le Figaro – will reshuffle the cards. “An election is never won or lost in advance. I do not want to believe that in this moderate and serious constituency, the RN could be a solution. There was a strong mobilization of their voters in the European elections when ours voted less, but this will be rebalanced on Sunday”assures Eric Poulliat. The municipal councilor in Saint Aubin de Médoc, supported by Christophe Duprat, mayor of his commune and general secretary of the LR Federation of Gironde, is also counting on a transfer of votes from non-Ciottist LRs. For “not to divide forces”no candidate from this branch of the Republicans is running against him.
“The major issue will be the LR vote”
Candidate of the coalition of the right allied with the LR of Éric Ciotti, Jimmy Bourlieux (RN) also knows that the stakes of the election lie in this transfer of LR votes whose list led by François Xavier Bellamy won 7.47% in the European elections. “We could potentially end up with 35% of the votes and a good chance of winning in a triangular if no one withdraws”estimates the general secretary of the RN group in the regional council, based on the results of the European elections.
The RN regional advisor also has his hopes on the wave of Macronism predicted by the polls. “Mr. Poulliat’s main problem is that he is Emmanuel Macron’s candidate. His local electorate has evaporated.”, predicts the thirty-year-old. A thorn in the side that the majority candidate accepts without resigning himself. “It’s the political game”thus retorts the elected representative Renaissance.
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No withdrawal in sight in the second round
And the outgoing MP is all the more convinced of this because he believes he is the only moderate alternative to the two camps that are gripping him. “The return of Marie Récalde to the constituency does not worry me. She may well be a socialist, but she presents herself in a cynical electoral team which carries the electoral bag of the New Popular Front. She has multiple local mandates and her parliamentary record, 12 years ago, is zero.tackles the almost fifty-year-old. He also denounces his rival’s about-face. While she had refused to run under the Nupes label in 2020, Marie Récalde is now running under the NFP logo. “We are in an unprecedented period which worries me a lot and that is the meaning of my commitment”is justified by the triple local elected official in the Region, the Metropolis and the town hall of Mérignac. “In 2022, I could not leave with Nupes because I am a social democrat. The NFP is different, I didn’t hesitate for a second. We must confront the RN through unity and we would have been criticized for not doing so.”
The New Popular Front candidate does not, however, commit to withdrawing in the second round of voting in the event of a triangular vote. “We’ll see the scores. I will take my Republican responsibilities when the time comes. That said, I sense panic among my opponents”, she evades. Same story with Éric Pouillat who “does not find it responsible to give the French the choice between the extreme right and the extreme left”. A concern far from the dynamic on which Jimmy Bourlieux is surfing. “I think that this constituency will reconstitute an inverted Republican front against the extreme left which defends degrowth via the Greens and announces more taxes through LFI. Qualifying for the second round would be a historic performance in this territory,” advances the RN candidate. But right now, “all scenarios are possible” However, the three favourites in the 6th constituency of Gironde agree.
