In Chartres, at the restaurant in a small committee, Ladislas Vergne (LR), candidate in the 1st constituency of Eure-et-Loir (Chartres), awaits the results.
It was at the restaurant La Passacaille, in Chartres, that the small campaign team of Ladislas Vergne (LR), candidate in the 1st constituency (Chartres) met to follow the results of this first round of early legislative elections.
At 7:30 p.m., Hervé, Arthur, Claudine and Louis have already started to eat dinner. While they don’t say they are calm, the mood is mostly one of analysis, while waiting for the first results. Some say they are “shocked by the RN’s results against a candidate who was landed in Eure-et-Loir three weeks ago.”
“With a 40% RN, it’s difficult to do more”
A little before 8 p.m., as the first results begin to come in (Épernon, Gallardon, Maintenon), Ladislas Vergne arrives, closely followed by the last members of the team, including his replacement, Emmanuel Meyer. About ten people in total. There without really being there, the candidate has his eyes glued to his phone, searching for new results.
Faces are closed when discovering the first trends that place Ladislas Vergne around 7%. A few jokes come to relax the atmosphere, but we are especially waiting for the results of Chartres.
While some activists have already left, the meal continues between private discussions and analysis of the results. At the end of the evening, faced with the more or less visible disappointment of the activists, Ladislas Vergne wants to move forward:
“With an RN at 40%, it’s difficult to do more. These are right-wing voters.”
empty (empty)
Convinced that new elections are imminent, “in the face of the foreseeable disorder”, he urges his troops to mobilize for the future. “Next time, we will be better prepared, we will not have Ciotti”, recognizing that “the big job of the right, now, will be to find a leader”.
It is 10:19 p.m. when Ladislas Vergne and the rest of the team leave the Passacaille, the end of an evening that should not remain in people’s memories.
A HQ under tension, in Dreux
Serious faces, concentrated expressions, it is neither a time for euphoria nor defeatism at the Drouaise office of Olivier Marleix (LR), candidate in the constituency of Dreux. The boss is not there: as always on the evening of the first rounds, he stays at home in Anet, he prefers solitude and the company of his dog to the hubbub of election nights and does not run after television sets.
Suddenly, the final results come in: Olivier Marleix is second in the Dreux constituency. But, far from the RN and especially very close to the socialist candidate of the New Popular Front. “147 votes, that’s not much,” worries an activist: “Yes, but we’re still ahead.”
Seasoned activists like Jean-Pierre Larsonneur are calling for calm: “In an election, you should never panic but you should never be surprised by anything.” Jacques Lemare, LR departmental councillor for Dreux 2, is in front of the computer with Christelle Minard, Olivier Marleix’s substitute, and is already doing some calculations.
Among young supporters, we want to believe it. “We gave a lot, we worked, we’re going to do it again this week. » Everyone hopes that Nadia Faveris, the socialist candidate, will not attempt the adventure of a triangular which “could be fatal to both candidates and make the RN win”.
We cling to the idea that “the national has given clear instructions to make way for the best placed candidate against the RN”. We invoke the Drouais experience of the FN becoming RN: “They have not forgotten 1983 and Olivier has always been clear against the RN. »
Myriam Arnaud and Pascal Boursier
