This was one of the challenges of the first round of the legislative elections on June 30: would the union of the left within the New Popular Front create a dynamic? The case of Rennes provides the beginning of an answer: the “NFP” does better than Nupes in 2022 and enters the second round in the position of favorite over the Breton capital. But there are dark spots, especially if we compare the results of the left bloc to the European elections at the beginning of June.
In the four constituencies of the Rennes conurbation (1, 2, 3 and 8), the NFP candidates all came first. On the 8th, that of Rennes center, the outgoing socialist deputy Mickaël Bouloux was even elected on Sunday evening. In 2022, he had to face the presidential majority candidate Florian Bachelier in the second round. The former mayor of Le Rheu improved his score by seven points and this time totaled 52.8% of the votes. A sign that the center-left Rennes electorate, who joined the marchers in 2017, has broken with the macronie.
Good and bad for the Rennes left
In the other three constituencies, the champions of the united left are favorites. All came first and will compete in the second round in three-way races. Barring a surprise withdrawal, they will each time face an Ensemble candidate and an RN candidate. The PS Claudia Rouaux, in the 3rd, and the LFI Marie Mesmeur, in the 1st, are well on their way to allowing the left to keep these two seats. The 2nd constituency, the only one won by the presidential majority in 2022, could this time fall into the hands of the left. Tristan Lahais (NFP – Génération. s) is in the lead ahead of the outgoing Laurence Maillart-Méhaignerie, whereas he came second two years ago.
However, these good results hide a mixed electoral record. These three candidates only improve the score of the united left by a few points compared to 2022. And if we compare the results of the European elections on June 9, the left bloc loses almost everywhere. In the 1st constituency, for example, the rebellious Marie Mesmeur totaled 42.3% of the votes, seven less than the cumulative score of the left-wing lists three weeks before. The coalition therefore probably caused some of Raphaël Gluscksmann’s voters to flee towards Ensemble candidate Nicolas Boucher (32%).
Above all, the dynamics of the NFP in Rennes pale in comparison to that of the National Rally. For the first time in the Breton capital, the party crosses the threshold of the first round and imposes its candidates in triangulars. It is above all he who benefited from the sharp increase in participation (+ approximately 20 points). The rise of the extreme right, certainly less strong than elsewhere in France, is also evident in these lands which are nevertheless anchored to the left.
