AAfter a lightning campaign following the European elections of June 9 and the dissolution of the National Assembly by the President of the Republic, Emmanuel Macron, this first round of early legislative elections has reserved many surprises in the Landes department.
1. Exceptional participation
71.10% in the first constituency. An additional lick in the second to reach 71.81% and 73.19% in the third of Landes. Scores that this department had not seen since the 1997 legislative elections. An increase oscillating between 18 and 20 points. This participation has several readings and allowed – it seems – all camps to pull out all the stops.
2. The RN even stronger
At the end of this first round, the National Rally continues to establish itself in the Landes. It has achieved historic scores in many municipalities. The far-right party is in the lead in 208 municipalities (compared to 298 for the European elections). The north of the department is the driving force behind this rooting, with, in particular, a strip from west to east where everything is under the control of the RN, except for a few socialist resistances in four municipalities.
Two of its candidates came out on top in the first two constituencies. In the first, a total unknown – Véronique Fossey – puts the former minister Geneviève Darrieussecq in an unfavourable position, with her trailing by almost nine points. In the second, the Landes leader of the RN, Ludovic Biesbrouck, comes out on top, ahead of the outgoing Lionel Causse (presidential majority) by almost three points. In the third, in the heart of the socialist territory, Sylvie Franceschini is barely a thousand votes behind (out of a total of 73,166 voters) the outgoing socialist, Boris Vallaud.
3. The disappointed left
She has to be content with the performance of Boris Vallaud, who comes out on top in the third constituency. For the rest, the two candidates of the New Popular Front, Marie-Laure Lafargue and Jean-Marc Lespade, have already announced their withdrawal, having come third. Even on lands that are nevertheless favorable to them (to a lesser extent in the first constituency), they suffer from the scores achieved by the candidates of the presidential majority, who do more than save face: Lionel Causse at almost 30% and Geneviève Darrieussecq exceeding 28%. The latter escaped the tidal wave that swept away many candidates of Macronie, in the rest of the country.
4. The right in difficulty
The results are terrible for the candidates stamped LR historic channel. The best score is achieved by Brice Saint-Cricq, on the third (7.18%). Marc Vernier barely exceeds 5% on the second. And with only 4.37% on the first constituency, Fabienne Chrit does not restore color to this result. 12,564 ballots Les Républicains were put in the Landes ballot boxes, out of a total of 231,637 voters.
5. And in the second round?
“If the people of Landes want change, there will be some.” The president of the RN in Landes, Ludovic Biesbrouck, does not hide his ambitions and dreams of a grand slam, Sunday July 7, the evening of the second round. Starting with himself, on the second. According to our information, in its projections, the far-right party had bet on the first for a swing. The outgoing MP will have to fill up and hope for a massive transfer of voters who supported Marie-Laure Lafargue. He must not miss any to prevent this territory from swelling the ranks of far-right MPs.
In the second, Lionel Causse will once again have to benefit from a flawless transfer of the capital gleaned by Jean-Marc Lespade. The fear of seeing some left-wing voters demobilize is a risk that many political commentators are mentioning. Finally, in the third, the RN wants to hook Boris Vallaud on its home turf. The score achieved in the first round seems to have given wings to the Le Pen candidate, who hopes to gather even more. This time, the left will wait for the support of the presidential camp to make the difference. And keep at least its only seat as deputy in the Landes.
