Surprise in the Ardennes: the National Rally (RN) lost the 1 on Sunday December 8re constituency won in July, for the benefit of the former deputy of the Macronist majority, now without a label. A partial legislative election was called there due to the resignation in October of deputy RN Flavien Termet, briefly the youngest member of the Assembly. Former MP Lionel Vuibert won the second round with 50.9% of the votes, 372 votes ahead of RN candidate Jordan Duflot. Abstention amounts to 69% of those registered, a very slight drop compared to the first round.
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Even if by-elections are rarely to the advantage of the National Rally, the constituency was very favorable to the far right. In the first round, Jordan Duflot had a 14-point lead over his opponent, who could nevertheless hope for the support of Les Républicains voters (16% in the first round) and Nouveau Front populaire (10%). However, their candidates had not given voting instructions.
In this tight configuration, the RN tried to make the difference by sending its popular president Jordan Bardella, during a press conference alongside Jordan Duflot, Tuesday December 3. The far right thus hoped to mobilize an electorate which had barely turned out during the first round. But that wasn't enough.
Discreet campaign
Lionel Vuibert, 56, had been a deputy for the constituency between 2022 and 2024, elected under the presidential majority label and member of the Agir! party, which brings together former right-wing elected officials. This time he presented himself without a label, and told the Monde want to sit among the non-registered. The man has a well-known name in the Ardennes, his father having been a deputy for two terms and mayor of Rethel, a town in the constituency, and his mother councilor of a neighboring village. He is general director of the training centers of the Union of Metallurgical Industries and Trades of Champagne-Ardenne (UIMM).
The right-wing candidate campaigned, between the two rounds, condemning the motion of censure voted by the National Rally with the left, which led to the overthrow of Michel Barnier's government. He made the difference in Charleville-Mézières, the southern half of which is covered by this constituency, with 60% of the votes. The other town in the constituency, Rethel, gave him 53% of the votes.
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