In the 6th Gard, Josserand (RN) in the lead, but Colson’s withdrawal allows the left to hope

She had been elected to the European Parliament three weeks ago. On the evening of the first round, this Sunday, RN lawyer Sylvie Josserand is well positioned to access, this time, the National Assembly. Two years after the elimination in the first round of its candidate Laurence Gardet, in 2022, the far-right party has achieved the feat of moving into pole position, relegating its first opponent to 14 points behind. Sylvie Josserand obtained 42.07% of the votes cast, with 23,382 votes while two years ago, the RN candidate obtained 9,018.

Nicolas Cadène (related to Ecologists, New Popular Front), who collected the results from the Bar du Midi, with his campaign team, very quickly felt that the RN, very strong in the villages, would take the lead. With good results in Nîmes, he obtained second place, with 28.77% but was behind by more than 7,000 votes.

Aurélien Colson: “Not a single vote for the RN”

Aurélien Colson (Modem, Ensemble), third with 20.73% of the vote, could have maintained a three-way race (13.46% of registered voters). Arriving at around 9:30 p.m. at the Carré Jazz, near the Maison Carrée, he ultimately decided otherwise. With a serious expression, he first thanked his substitute and his team. “I took responsibility from the beginning by agreeing to lead this campaign that I knew would be very difficult. I am taking responsibility again by withdrawing from the race. I do not want to contribute in any way to electing the RN representative. I am the owner of only my one vote. But to all those who have placed their trust in me, I want to say this: not a single vote for the RN.”

Nicolas Cadène took note. “I salute the campaign led by Aurélien Colson and its result but also his sense of responsibility in calling for no votes to be given to the RN in the second round to prevent it from winning this constituency and having a majority in the National Assembly. From now on , we will transform the new popular front into a new republican front.”

To win, Nicolas Cadène will have to fight hard. And not lose any votes along the way if he wants to reverse the trend. We can imagine that those of Aurélien Colson can largely turn to Nicolas Cadène. The latter having, like Aurélien Colson, worked for socialist personalities, they probably share a common set of values. But what will the voters of the other candidates do? Will those of Clément Stevant, a young LR candidate sent to the front in the absence of the usual big names who collects 5.76% of the votes, vote in favor of the Republican arc? And those of the animalist regionalist Laura Affortit (2%, all the same!) or the LO candidate Aïcha Terbeche?

For her part, Sylvie Josserand loses her temper against the Republican front : “The Macronist candidate throws in the towel given the catastrophic record of his government. What is his strategy today other than blocking it? I would like to know.” Conversely, she calls on LR candidates and “more generally all Republicans” to join her. There is one week left to campaign. At the Midi bar, the socialist elected official Corinne Giacometti, a loyal supporter of Nicoals Cadène, takes a deep breath: “It’s going to be hard, let’s not lie to ourselves. But we have to believe in it. There is no impregnable citadel.”