The rad-soc’ lands of Saintonge are no longer impervious to the National Rally. In the European elections, Jordan Bardella received 15,798 votes (35.69%). Sunday June 30, his candidate came out of nowhere, Stéphane Morin, collected 22,759, or 40.85%. In June 2022, Nathalie Collard qualified for the second round with 9,162 votes (22.30%). In two years, the RN will have multiplied its score by 2.5 in number of votes!…
The rad-soc’ lands of Saintonge are no longer impervious to the National Rally. In the European elections, Jordan Bardella had garnered 15,798 votes (35.69%). On Sunday, June 30, his candidate who came out of nowhere, Stéphane Morin, collected 22,759, or 40.85%. In June 2022, Nathalie Collard qualified for the second round with 9,162 votes (22.30%). In two years, the RN will have multiplied its score by 2.5 in number of votes! It should be noted that the turnout, 68.93%, is higher than all legislative elections since 2002.
“The campaign was strongly mobilized. The towns of Saintes and Saint-Jean-d’Angély showed that there was a national dynamic at work,” analyzes Stéphane Morin. The far right intends to plow its furrow. Nathalie Collard, a little disappointed at not having had a second chance in the legislative elections, settled in Chaniers in order to lead a list there in the next municipal elections.
Jahier Laurent/SO
RN candidate in 2022, Nathalie Collard (left) this time played the role of the activist.
In the third constituency of Charente-Maritime, the suspense focused mainly on who would qualify in second position. Arriving early at the Saintonge hall, in Saintes, Fabrice Barusseau flinched at his meager lead over the commune of Saintes: 34.56%, compared to 32.15% for Jean-Philippe Ardouin (and 30.28% for the RN). The New Popular Front candidate was banking on the city to compensate for lower scores in the campaign, particularly in Matha.
Jahier Laurent/SO
Fabrice Barusseau, who was hovering between second and third place, waited a long time for his phone to reveal the final result.
Matha was delayed, putting a strain on the nerves of Fabrice Barusseau and his team. In the end, it comes down to almost nothing. The mayor of Villars-les-Bois, close to the PS, is ahead of the outgoing Renaissance deputy, Jean-Philippe Ardouin, by 101 votes: 15,637 (28.07%) against 15,536 (27.88%). “It’s so close… What strikes me the most this evening is the progress of the RN on Saintes and Saint-Jean-d’Angély. We’re a little stunned though. »
Lunar
What was Jean-Philippe Ardouin going to say? At the beginning of the week, the two men had discussed the principle of the third-placed man withdrawing in favour of the second-placed man. The MP made a crazy proposal. He suggested that Fabrice Barusseau withdraw in his favour because he thought he would get a better transfer of votes. The outgoing MP emphasised the tiny gap between them, 0.19%, and also flattered himself that he was doing better than Renaissance at the national level (22%).
He would no doubt have dreamed that Gérald Dahan, Nupes candidate in 2022, this time a dissident, would do better than a minimum of 1.05% (587 votes), behind Anne-Catherine Godde, for Lutte Ouvrière, at 2.15% (1,196 votes).
“These are somewhat strange alliances that are being prepared. The French must not have their election stolen in the second round,” commented Stéphane Morin a little earlier. The RN tried to discredit Fabrice Barusseau by associating him with Jean-Luc Mélenchon and anti-Semitism. “The RN candidate, before calling me anti-Semitic, would do well to review his history and look at the origins of his party. If there is one from whom I have no lessons to learn, it’s him,” replies the person concerned.
