In the first round of these legislative elections, the RN candidate, Françoise Billaud, came first in seven municipalities out of the twenty in the first constituency, that of Saint-Brieuc. Seven and a half, even, since Plouagat, married to Châtelaudren who is in the constituency of Guingamp, placed the representative of Marine Le Pen’s party in the lead.
A score multiplied by 2 or 3, even 4!
It is also in this former canton of Châtelaudren, very rural, that it achieves its best scores: 41.2% in Plerneuf, 39.8% in Cohiniac and 39.2% in Plouvara. Three other rural municipalities in the south of the constituency also give him the majority of their votes: Plédran and Saint-Julien (34.1% in both municipalities), and Saint-Donan (32%). Françoise Billaud comes in second position in La Méaugon (29%), Plélo (29.9%), Trégomeur (25.9%) and Trémuson (31.6%) – behind Mickaël Cosson (Ensemble – Modem) but ahead of Nouveau Popular Front.
This RN vote has been multiplied by two, or even three, compared to 2022, and not only in these small rural communities. As participation was higher, it is better to rely on voting numbers rather than percentages. In Saint-Julien for example, the vote increased from 148 votes in 2022 to 393 votes in 2024. The largest increase is in Plédran, where the RN increases from 322 votes in 2022 (when mayor Stéphane Briend was a various right-wing candidate) to 1,274 votes in 2024: a score multiplied by four. And even in more left-wing municipalities, such as Saint-Brieuc, it went from 1,442 to 4,149 votes in two years! The strong participation therefore benefited him enormously.
Without campaigning locally
However, it is a fact that we must remember: already a candidate in 2022, Françoise Billaud was almost invisible during this short campaign. Without local roots, this resident of Maël-Carhaix was singled out for publications with xenophobic, and even downright Pétainist, content on social networks. She then deleted her Facebook and X accounts, and in the process, canceled the planned interview with Le Télégramme even though all the candidates responded. A strategy of concealment behind the Bardella and Le Pen banner which continues: she did not even respond to calls from the press on the evening of the first round.
