A place where candidates and activists meet, the prefecture in Poitiers was the setting for a very special election evening, Sunday June 30, 2024.
The minutes pass and faces are stretched towards the lit screens, on BFM or France 3. This June 30, 2024, the day of the first round of the legislative elections, we know that the moment could remain in history and the date could one day be found in school textbooks.
So, when the first national results come in, it’s almost a relief: it’s definitely an explosion, but not worse than what the polls predicted.
“People came to us to say they were going to vote for us”
At the same time, the first visuals appear on the monitors, constituency by constituency. Even bad, the results can still be satisfying. ” It’s better, breathes Isabelle Enon, Pascal Lecamp’s substitute. We knew we would be behind the RN anyway. »
Frantically tapping away on his phone, Kevin Courtois, substitute for Hager Jacquemin (National Rally), has a discreet triumphalism. Noting the “very good scores” On the third and fourth, he explains that he is not very surprised. “We saw it on the pitch, in Châteauneuf last Saturday and in La Roche-Posay. People came to see us, from the left, to tell us that they were going to vote for us. »
“We’ll see tomorrow and the day after.”
But he remains cautious about the future, in the face of possible withdrawals to block his party. “We’ll see tomorrow and the day after.” After attending her HQ for the first results, Lisa Belluco makes a stop at the prefecture while the counting of the first constituency is still in progress, leaving her behind the RN and the union of the right. “Wait, Poitiers hasn’t fallen”, she reassures. Indeed, a few minutes later, the final results put her in the lead.
Analyzing the results of this first round on the steps of the prefecture, Benoît Tirant, regional councilor Place publique, looks ahead to the second round and the withdrawals that could occur one after the other. “We don’t know what people will do, even if there are withdrawals and calls to vote. »
“We will have to fight”
Also coming to attend the unveiling of the results at the prefecture, Karine Desroses, regional advisor, notes the scale scores of the National Rally. “It’s a night where we take a hit. We’re going to have to fight to counter them,” she announces, taking advantage of her role in the Region to find lessons there. “People say that we haven’t tried them, but we see how they work in the Region, they are against everything, it’s a complete mess.”
“A coalition government”
Former mayor of Poitiers, Alain Claeys came early to the salons of the prefecture to await the results and announced that he would support “Turquoise like Lecamp” for the second round. He also notes that these early elections, much criticized, were acclaimed by the French. “We haven’t had such a participation rate since 1978. The French felt concerned. This allowed for clarification. » He is waiting for the second round “which will be very important”. “If the RN does not have an absolute majority, it will be necessary to form a coalition government with all the Democrats and the Republicans. »
