While the floods made the inhabitants of Blendecques collateral victims of global warming, their vote did not go to the environmentalists. During the last European elections, the RN won more than 50.71% of the votes.
After the numerous floods which disrupted the lives of the inhabitants of Blendecques between November and January, did the votes turn towards the environmentalist party? While some thought that such events, making this population a collateral victim of global warming, would push the town to turn green, this is not the case.
On June 9, during the European elections, the list carried by Marie Toussaint of the Ecologists obtained only 1.85% of the votes. A score lower than that of the animalist party and the blank vote. In comparison, the Green Party came in third position in the 2019 European elections. This year, it fell to 10th place.
Environmentalists held responsible for floods
The anger caused by the flooding episodes therefore benefits the National Rally, which obtained 50.71% of their votes. According to residents, questioned by BFM Grand Lille, the score of environmentalists is now in clear decline, because they are considered responsible for the floods. They point in particular to the regulations surrounding cleaning to protect fauna and flora during the reproduction period.
These disasters had a profound impact on the town, which has not been quite the same since. The State plans to buy around ten houses in a damaged street to raze them. The neighborhood could become a flood expansion zone, a natural area that will retain water to protect other neighborhoods from flooding.
Blendecques is not the only municipality to react in this way: in Guînes, where around a hundred homes were affected by floods, Jordan Bardella’s party achieved a score of almost 60%, compared to barely 1.6% for the ecologists.
It remains to be seen whether this trend will be confirmed during the legislative elections.
Florine Kurek with Mélanie Hennebique
