towards a three-way race between the RN, the NFP and Ensemble in the 2nd constituency?

DIn the second constituency, the candidate of the National Rally (RN), Karen Bertholom came in first (34.41% of the vote); followed by Benoît Biteau of the New Popular Front (NFP) who came in second (26.94%). In third place, 1,254 votes behind, we find the outgoing MP, Anne-Laure Babault (Together for the Republic) with 25.33%. Far behind, the mayor of Rochefort, Hervé Blanché…

DIn the second constituency, the candidate of the National Rally (RN), Karen Bertholom came in first (34.41% of the vote); followed by Benoît Biteau of the New Popular Front (NFP) who came in second (26.94%). In third place, 1,254 votes behind, we find the outgoing MP, Anne-Laure Babault (Ensemble pour la République) with 25.33%. Far behind, the mayor of Rochefort, Hervé Blanché (Les Républicains) recorded 12.36%. Finally, the candidate of Workers’ Struggle (LO), Frédéric Castello recorded a tiny 0.96%.

It’s getting tough

That’s for the accounts. The most interesting thing is what will happen on July 7. Clearly, Hervé Blanché and Frédéric Castello are packing up shop for the second round. But what about the leading trio? This is where things get complicated because a three-way race is looming on July 7.

Benoît Biteau is clear. He is not satisfied, but he wants to continue to hope. “We have to fight and it is not insurmountable. It is up to voters to choose whether they want a ghost candidate who will be a ghost MP or an MP who knows how to cross swords and uphold the values ​​of the Republic.” But that was before he learned of Anne-Laure Babault’s intention to stay in office.

Unlike Benoît Biteau, the only candidate to commit to withdrawing in the second round if he had come in third place “to create a dam for the RN”, Anne-Laure Babault made other calculations. In fact, the rule authorizes it to maintain itself since it attracted 17.4% of the number of registered participants (it needed at least 12.5%).

Did the Modem and related candidate consult the devices to find out the instructions? On TV, François Bayrou, head of the Modem, specified that in the event of a three-way race, it would be necessary to “look at constituency by constituency according to the candidates’ sensibilities. Many French people would be desperate if they had to choose between the RN and La France insoumise (LFI).” Except that Benoît Biteau, the NFP candidate, is not from LFI, but from the Greens. However, last night on France 3, Anne-Laure Babault announced that she would stay in the race.

Babault persists

Her logic? Inevitably in the balance, she weighed the weight of Hervé Blanché’s votes, who had announced earlier in the evening that he would vote for her in the second round. With a reservoir of votes greater than that of the left-wing candidate, she clearly hopes to regain her seat. It is still necessary for all Blanché’s voters to choose her on July 7. And that is not a given, some will inevitably go to the RN.

Anne-Laure Babault will have to take responsibility for this three-way conflict when it should absolutely be avoided.

And it’s not over, Anne-Laure Babault asks Benoît Biteau to step down. But he does not deviate: “I am second, she is third, she must agree to give up her place to let me take on the duel against the RN. Anne-Laure Babault will have to take responsibility for this triangular when it should absolutely be avoided. » And Hervé Blanché slipped that “in the unlikely event that Anne-Laure Babault does not maintain her position, I know that Benoît Biteau is not far left even though I do not know the RN candidate.”

Meanwhile, Karen Bertholom doesn’t care whether it will be a duel or a three-way race. She wants to bring people together by calling on “LR and even the leftists to join us to save the country.”

Find all the results in the Charente-Maritime department https://elections.sudouest.fr/