The mayor of Cholet, LR-RN candidate in the 5th constituency of Maine-et-Loire, came in second place on Sunday evening but he announced to Ouest France that he was withdrawing before the second round.
Dramatic turn of events in the 5th constituency of Maine-et-Loire. Gilles Bourdouleix, LR candidate supported by the National Rally, announced on Monday July 1st to Ouest France that he was not maintaining his candidacy for the second round of voting.
In a message addressed to the regional daily, Gilles Bourdouleix said he was “disgusted by a nauseating electoral campaign which insults democracy and our fellow citizens”.
“I have decided to return home. There will be no further comments other than the appeals regarding the illegalities committed by a candidate,” he added, without giving further details.
The LR mayor of Cholet, who followed Eric Ciotti in his alliance with the RN, came in second place on Sunday evening (30.5%) behind Denis Masséglia, the outgoing Renaissance MP (33.7%), but ahead of the candidate of La France insoumise, France Moreau (21.3%), who was running for the New Popular Front.
The LFI candidate’s three-stage withdrawal
Having qualified for the second round, France Moreau announced her withdrawal on Sunday evening in order to block the National Rally. She then announced on Monday morning that she would reverse her decision.
“After a careful study of the final results with the national coordination of the New Popular Front, I have chosen to maintain my candidacy, in order to position myself as a bulwark against this racist vision of France carried by Gilles Bourdouleix,” she explained in a press release.
But at the end of the day, there was another turnaround since France Moreau finally declared that she was opting to withdraw. “If nationally, I am asked to carry out a task, I do it, but it is not easy in a person’s life to make these decisions,” she told France 3 Pays de la Loire. “At some point, you have to set a limit, a red line that you do not cross.”
A change of position communicated before the announcement of the withdrawal of Gilles Bourdouleix’s candidacy. Could France Moreau once again reverse her withdrawal in the absence of the mayor of Cholet in the second round? In the current state of candidacies, there would in fact be only Denis Masséglia in the running to be elected deputy of this constituency.
