If for seven years the constituency has been in the colors of the presidential party, the tide could turn in favor of the National Rally. Decryption.
During the recent European elections, the approximately 70,000 voters in the first constituency (divided between Valence and the Tain-l’Hermitage region, editor’s note) of Drôme clearly showed their color. As everywhere in Drôme, the National Rally (RN) came first in the poll by obtaining 29% of the votes. A trend which may be confirmed during the next legislative elections which will be held on June 30 and July 7.
An ambitious national gathering
The RN therefore chose to place a very invested person within the party, Jean-Paul Vallon. RN departmental delegate, he also appeared on Jordan Bardella’s list in the European elections. To convince voters to vote in favor of the National Rally, the candidate puts forward one of the key ideas of his party: the protection of purchasing power. The politician also hopes that voters will turn out en masse to the polls to win the deputy seat.
The presidential party is well established locally
But nothing is yet decided for the party led by Jordan Bardella. Because since 2017, the first constituency has been in the hands of the presidential party Renaissance, represented by the outgoing deputy, Mireille Clapot. If she described the dissolution “error” and thus showing her disagreement with her own political family, she did not hesitate for long to renew her candidacy. “All is not lost, we must throw all our strength into it because I fear a tidal wave. If there is ever going to be a Prime Minister from the extreme right, then we will have to go into resistance”, she declared in our columns. To try to convince voters, Mireille Clapot preferred to emphasize social values rather than putting forward her party’s ideas. The change in tone is also visible on its various leaflets where the “Together, for the Republic” logo is discreetly positioned at the bottom left or absent.
The Republicans are not giving up
Before claiming victory, the National Rally, represented in the first constituency by Jean-Paul Vallon, departmental secretary of the RN in Drôme, must also face the candidate of the Les Républicains (LR) party, Véronique Pugeat. Although she failed to win over voters during the last legislative elections in 2022, she has decided to run again. Very involved locally for ten years, in the Department with young people as vice-president and at the Valence town hall as first deputy, Véronique Pugeat can count on the solid support of Nicolas Daragon, mayor of Valence for ten years. Even if the image of her political party has been tarnished by president Éric Ciotti (the latter having deliberately chosen to ally himself with the RN, editor’s note), the candidate intends to rely on her values to win the seat of deputy. “I do not prostitute myself and remain faithful to my values. I want to embody the right which restores order in the streets, at school and at our borders. If I am elected, I will also work to restore the authority of teachers and support farmers as well as SMEs who are strangled by charges and taxes. I offer a middle path which is the only republican alternative.she assures.
The New Popular Front gathers its forces
Locally, the National Rally will also have to face the left embodied by the new Popular Front which can potentially overtake it with the candidate Paul Christophle, departmental secretary of the PS. As a reminder, the Socialist Party and Place publique came in second position during the European elections in the constituency. Other parties like LFI and Europe ecology the Greens have also made inroads. A few days before the first round, other candidates in the first constituency hope to take advantage of this uncertain situation. This is the case of Reconquête represented by Thierry Aoustet. For her part, Adèle Kopff, teacher, is once again a candidate to carry the voice of workers under the Lutte Ouvrière banner.
