News from the first constituency of Haute-Corse:
- 1st constituency of Haute-Corse, Michel Castellani in the lead with 1,100 votes in advance
- In Bastia too, the RN confuses the issue
- In peri-urban Bastia, the tour de force of the National Rally
- Legislative: reactions of the candidates of the first constituency of Haute-Corse
The question was on everyone’s lips as the first round approached: who, Julien Morganti or of Jean-François Paolithe two candidates opposing the nationalist majority in the city of Bastia, will be able to shake up Michel Castellani in the autonomist stronghold? Less than two years before the municipal elections, this “match within a match” promised to provide lessons on the dynamics of the opposition.
This was without counting on the RN surge which did not stop at the city gates. Far from it. Because it is ultimately the candidate of the National Rally, Jean-Michel Marchala novice on the island’s political chessboard, who comes to disrupt the game. With 3,425 votes (26.8%), he is seriously hot on the heels of the outgoing MP, who is in the lead with 3,617 votes (28.3%) and even has the luxury of coming in first place in… 14 out of 29 polling stations. Particularly in the southern districts of the city. Far, very far ahead of the centrist Julien Morganti (2,245 votes), the candidate of the New Popular Front LFI, Sacha Bastelica (1,327 votes) and the radical Jean-François Paoli (741 votes).
Three blocks that balance
The latter, supported by the opposition group Union for Bastiais relegated to fifth place, with 5.8% of the vote, and even shows a decline of some 200 votes compared to the 2022 legislative elections. His opponent in the opposition ranks, Julien Morgantiprogressed by almost 900 votes and rose to third place in Bastia with 17.5%.
While the absence of a right-wing candidate in this election probably helped its progress, it also undoubtedly paved the way for the RN, which gained nearly 2,500 additional votes since the 2022 election. “This is an unprecedented result which challenges us because the RN is the antithesis of our values”whispers an elected member of the nationalist majority.
Another lesson: if the reading of the results must also be weighted by the strong increase in participation, at the end of this first round the political balance of power seems to be balanced around three blocks. If the nationalist family gathers nearly 4,100 votes, the heterogeneous left dominates the game with 4,400 votes, just ahead of the radical right, around 4,300 votes, with the score of Nicolas Battini who, with 608 votes, is ahead of the separatists of Core in fronte. A sign that the far right has become a force that will also have to be reckoned with in Bastia.
