It is 8 p.m. at Quimper City Hall when the national scores appear on the giant screen, revealing the lead race of the National Rally (33.5%). A cathedral silence, at the foot of Saint-Corentin, freezes the room. Faces are stunned, looks incredulous. Local elected officials, struck with stupor, come out onto the forecourt to pour out their incomprehension and tears of anger. On the banks of the Odet, the dam has burst. In Quimper, Christel Hénaff (20.34%) exceeds 20% in 26 polling stations out of 50. Unprecedented. The increase in votes is considerable, confirming the breakthrough of the European elections. In two years, the candidate of Marine Le Pen’s party, despite a minimalist campaign, won 10,744 votes in the first constituency of Finistère, going from 10.87% to 23.67% this Sunday, June 30. Christel Hénaff qualifies hands down by easily exceeding the threshold of 12.5% of registered voters (+ 4,541 votes). In Edern, the RN candidate comes out on top with 30.78% and finishes in second place in Clohars-Fouesnant (31.24%), Landrévarzec (29.68%) and Pleuven (29.54%). On the evening of the second round, we will know whether the RN vote has taken lasting root in the once moderate soil.
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2 Annaïg Le Meur in the lead and in a favorable position
“I am moved.” When the results were announced, Annaïg Le Meur cracked her armour for a few moments before displaying optimism tinged with caution; “It’s reassuring but I’ll wait for the final whistle.” The Renaissance candidate perhaps did not expect to come out on top by wearing the presidential label. “I worked hard for the constituency. It’s proof that we also vote for a person and their local roots.” The outgoing MP came out on top in 11 of the 16 municipalities in the constituency. And while the gap in votes is small (119 votes) with Grégory Lebert, the electoral arithmetic works in her favour due to the favourable vote transfers.
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3 Grégory Lebert or the impossible return?
As in 2022, Grégory Lebert comes in second position. The New Popular Front candidate comes first in Quimper (38.61%) but his supporters, who were numerous when the result was announced, know that the dynamics of the second round do not speak in his favor. The mobilization of the electorate did not allow him to widen a necessary gap from the first round. Its vote reserves are low and the challenge promises to be very difficult to meet. Alain Le Grand (7.27%), the Les Républicains candidate, made no secret this Sunday evening that he will vote personally for Annaïg Le Meur. A lip service voting instruction but which reflects the trend of this second round. As for the two other candidates in the running, Serge Hardy (Lutte Ouvrière, 1.26%) and France Herman (Reconquête, 0.91%) received only electoral crumbs.
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4 Record participation
This is the other major lesson of this election: the record turnout of 73.81% (69,589 voters). The prize for civic-mindedness goes to La Forêt-Fouesnant (79.48%) and Bénodet (78.39%). This Sunday evening, Isabelle Assih, the mayor of Quimper, praised this civic commitment by ending her speech with a prophetic: “We’re not giving up!” The response was given on the evening of Sunday, July 7.
