“Beaten but not defeated” : Fabien Roussel always has a way with words. Even when announcing his defeat, Sunday June 30, early in the evening. During the legislative elections, the national secretary of the French Communist Party (PCF) was eliminated in the first round by the candidate of the National Rally (RN), Guillaume Florquin. The latter, a protégé of Sébastien Chenu, won, with 50.3% of the vote, in the 20e Northern constituency, while Mr. Roussel only totaled 31.2%.
In these lands of Valenciennois, it is a small political earthquake, as Saint-Amand-les-Eaux and its surroundings symbolized what remained of the northern strongholds of the PCF. It is also a big blow for the boss of a party which is fighting for its survival.
As if he had sensed it, during this three-week express campaign, the outgoing communist deputy appeared tired and worried. He knew the RN was conquering for several elections in the former mining basin and the rural towns of the constituency. The 20e du Nord is one of those that had seen the highest scores for the far right during the 2022 legislative elections, and the PCF’s number one had already had to fight to keep it. The European elections on June 9 confirmed the Le Penist surge, with Jordan Bardella’s list at 37.3% of the votes at the department level.
“We hit a tsunami”
At the party headquarters, Place du Colonel-Fabien, there was no hiding a strong disappointment on Sunday at this brutal elimination. “It’s a symbol that hurts, but we knew it was going to be very hard: all the neighboring constituencies were already RN, and the result is in line with the dynamics of the European elections.recognizes Ian Brossat, senator from Paris and close to the national secretary. We have been hit by a tsunami which means that in the North, apart from Lille, I don’t know how many constituencies the left will keep.”
Fabien Roussel had a strong presence in this communist stronghold, which had seen PCF deputies elected without interruption since 1962. Having spent part of his career in the footsteps of Alain Bocquet, mayor of Saint-Amand-les-Eaux, who had left him the seat at the Palais-Bourbon in 2017, the elected official, also a municipal councilor, was working on his presence in this working-class constituency. Mr. Roussel made a point of representing the employees of small, impoverished and rural towns.
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