In Nevers, the Bords-de-Loire district, the city’s highest abstention rate, seems to have returned to the polls this Sunday, June 30, for the first round of the legislative elections.
Office number 15, Bords-de-Loire room. Next door, the large vacant lot on the site of the old swimming pool. Opposite, the buildings of this district, populated and yet very abstentionist.
This Sunday, June 30 morning, residents seemed to have somewhat found their way to the polls. To do this, you “just” had to cross the street, here Rue Bernard-Palissy.
11 hMarie-Noëlle, Odile and Maryse arrive together. The friends admit, a little shamefully, to having abstained from voting in the European elections. Without really knowing why. “We didn’t really feel concerned, probably stupidly,” Maryse admits, “Europe seems far away. Whereas here, it’s so close. “We didn’t take the measure,” says Marie-Noëlle, the most talkative.
Where are the young people?
So, they wanted to be all three to, this time, make their voices heard. “These elections brought politics back to the neighborhood,” says Marie-Noëlle, “we talked about it like never before. Particularly with young people. We held meetings for proxies.”
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The attitude of some of these “young people”, a group that is difficult to define, leaves them speechless. “We told them that we were retired, and that it was about their future, not ours,” continues Marie-Noëlle. Maryse and Odile agree.
11 h 15The polling station is regularly and continuously busy. It is Martial’s turn to come and vote. This retiree feels “he is in a tough spot, after a lifetime of work”.
Even though he has moved, he wants to come and vote, “in the neighborhood of his youth”.
He talks about young people. In rather unflattering terms: “They are not interested in politics, in the news. They don’t understand anything.”
11 h 30 Nordine proudly shows his voter card. He never misses a single ballot. “It’s natural for me.” This active man came with his son, “9 and a half years old.” “It’s for him, for later. When he’s older. Voting is important.”
11 h 40 The three members of the control commission park in front of the Bords-de-Loire hall. Composed of a representative of the prefecture, a magistrate and a legal assistant, it is there to ensure that the vote is conducted properly.
11 h 45 This 41-year-old man prefers to remain anonymous. Frequenting the polling stations “since the FN was in the final”, he seeks to understand why this neighborhood feels so little concerned by the elections. “I can understand young people. Nothing is done for them. But is that a reason not to vote? I don’t think so. Families have a role to play. The right to vote, democracy, politics: all these subjects must be discussed as a family.
“Not pass”
Disappointed by François Hollande, he says: “I don’t think the FN is a good thing, on the contrary.”
11 h 55A man leaves the polling station with only one comment: “No pasaran.”
12 hBryan is the 204th voter out of 905 registered, the polling station says. “This has nothing to do with the European elections,” assure the members of this office, “since this morning, the flow has been continuous.”
12 h 15A group of four retired men are chatting in the heart of the neighborhood. All of them voted in the first hours of the office opening.
The abstainers? “They are still sleeping,” they say. They do not particularly castigate the young. “There are abstainers of all ages.”
“However, even when we’re fed up, we have to go and vote,” explains one of them (they wished to remain anonymous).
“We must do it or keep quiet,” concludes another.
12 h 30The streets of the neighborhood are empty. The good smells of cooking spread at the foot of the buildings. Music escapes from some windows. It is time to eat.
The polling station remains open until 6 p.m.
Laure Brunet
