“Certain victories are of great significance”, reacts François Bayrou

Elected deputy for Isère with nearly 65% ​​of the votes during a partial legislative election this Sunday, Camille Galliard-Minier (Renaissance) celebrated her victory in her campaign HQ in Grenoble. The NFP candidate Lyes Louffok, largely defeated, calls on the left “for a start”. Overview of political reactions after this local election with national resonance.

A victory with a taste of reconquest for the presidential camp. Camille Galliard-Minier (Ensemble) was elected deputy for the first constituency of Isère this Sunday, January 19 after the second round of the legislative by-election.

The Macronist candidate faced Lyes Louffok, 30, invested by the New Popular Front (NFP) on the proposal of La France insoumise. “This is the result of three months of an intense campaign”reacted Ms. Galliard-Minier who collected 64,3 % of votes in the second round against the candidate of the left (35,7 %).

“Doing politics means giving yourself to others, but it also means giving messages. That’s what we tried to convey and I think we succeeded: having a positive message”she declared in her campaign headquarters in front of her supporters, promising to “represent all the inhabitants of this constituency”.

“Camille Galliard-Minier carried out a grassroots, local campaign and also a rallying campaign. It is the choice of national unity, the choice of dialogue. (…) She was able to convince with arguments, she was able to show that she was open to dialogue with people further to the right or more to the left than her”estimated the former MP (PS) for the constituency Geneviève Fioraso.

“Seriousness, responsibility and a sense of dialogue won out”wrote the President of the National Assembly Yaëlle Braun-Pivet on her X account (ex-Twitter) while Gabriel Attal, leader of the Renaissance presidential party, welcomed a “victory against the agents of chaos”.

“The victory of the field, of listening and proximity. The fair recognition of an exemplary career in the National Assembly. The victory of the rally, while the clarity and loyalty of the appeals of the unqualified candidates in the second round were decisive”affirms for his part the Minister Delegate responsible for relations with Parliament, Patrick Mignola (MoDem).

“Some victories are of great significance, locally and nationally! 64% in the 1st constituency of Isère lost in July“comments Prime Minister François Bayrou on the same social network. Camille Galliard-Minier, who was born and resides in this constituency, presents herself as a “social democrat” and often highlighted his local roots to achieve what his team presented as a “return match” against LFI.

The former deputy of Olivier Véran, who already sat in the National Assembly between 2020 and 2022 when he was Minister of Health, reconquers this constituency which had shifted to the left during the early legislative elections of June/July 2024. The Insoumis Hugo Prevost won thanks to a triangular against the outgoing deputy Olivier Véran and the Ciottist candidate Alexandre Lacroix.

Hugo Prevost resigned last October following accusations of sexist and sexual violence, leading to the organization of this election. Eleven candidates were in the running in the first round and the NFP-Ensemble duel was held this Sunday against a backdrop of very strong abstentions. Only 38.2% of voters went to the polls for the second round, a historically low figure.

DETAILS OF RESULTS >>> Partial legislative election in Isère: Macronist Camille Galliard-Minier elected deputy against Lyes Louffok (NFP)

Largely beaten, Lyes Louffok closed his campaign HQ to the press in the middle of the evening before reacting to the microphone of France 3 Alpes. “It’s a failure. Left-wing voters did not mobilize”he admitted before sharing his “concerns”.

“I note a transfer of votes from voters, notably from the National Rally, from the extreme right which is today embodied by Les Républicains, towards this candidate [Camille Galliard-Minier, NDLR]. This adds a lot of confusion where this candidate called for stability”believes Mr. Louffok.

The children's rights activist came first in the first round with 529 votes ahead of his competitor thanks to the city of Grenoble alone, which accounts for almost half of the votes in this constituency. But during the second round, Camille Galliard-Minier consolidated her lead in the communes of Grésivaudan and even followed her rival in Grenoble – which traditionally votes on the left – where it is only 30 votes behind.

“This campaign was full of challenges, firstly because the New Popular Front is fracturing on a national scale. We were polluted with debates and aggression between the different leaders of the left parties. This deeply disgusts voters. I call on the left to seriously question themselves, to start, because we absolutely cannot continue in this way”he also judges, deploring a campaign “particularly difficult”.

In a press release sent earlier in the evening, Lyes Louffok promised that this defeat did not mark “in no way the end of (his) fight” for children's rights: “Tonight, I am not turning the page. I am not leaving the political scene.”

“This defeat is that of a left which fractures, loses its compasses, does not appreciate the dangers, struggles to renew itself, with leaders more obsessed with destroying left partners than with undoing the macronie and beating the RN. But it’s never too late to do better.”analyzes the rebellious MP Clémentine Autain on X.

“In a context of strong abstention, a constituency wrested from the right in 2024 by popular mobilization has therefore returned to its traditional representation”regretted LFI in a press release. Lyes Louffok obtained 11,200 votes during the second round this Sunday, very far from the 26,438 votes received by Hugo Prevost last year.