“But you’re here? It’s nice to see you. I hope everything goes well.”, said a voter as he left the voting booth. The regulars at the Gerson school polling station, in Vieux-Lyon, can’t believe it. The watchmaker of Saint-Paul, in person, the real one, presides over office number 530. “Everything will be fine, welcome, this is where it happens”Philippe Carry answers them, with a felt hat on his head and a silk scarf around his neck.
Read also | Live, 2024 legislative results – voters’ words: “It’s so important, this time”
Add to your selections
Known for his commitment against the identity movement that is undermining the neighborhood, the original character in Bertrand Tavernier’s film (The Watchmaker of Saint-Paul1974) brings joy to the office. “People are afraid of what might happen tonight. We need to reassure them.”, confides the craftsman, without transgressing the neutrality of his one-day function. Seeing him in control of the electoral clocks rejoices the public, in this sector battered by small ultra-right groups. From the window of the polling station we can see the closed and anonymous door of La Traboule, dissolved on June 26 by the Ministry of the Interior – at the same time as the Union Defense Group, Top sport Rhône and Jonas Paris.
Everywhere in France, people voted in numbers on Sunday June 30 for the first round of the legislative elections. At 5 p.m., participation rose to 59.4%, twenty points more than during the 2022 election. At the Gerson school, in Old Lyon, the voting rate was high; proxies, numerous. “We must keep a memory of this important moment”, said the watchmaker from Saint-Paul. Because, in fact, the dissolution of the National Assembly decided by Emmanuel Macron, in the wake of the European elections of June 9, could lead the far right to power at the end of the second round, on July 7. A first since 1940.
On Sunday morning, June 30, the residents of Meistratzheim, 6e Bas-Rhin constituency, crowded in front of the community hall to go and vote. In this village of 1,500 inhabitants, in the heart of sauerkraut territory, the list led by Jordan Bardella (National Rally, RN) obtained 49.4% in the European elections. The outgoing MP, Louise Morel (Ensemble-Mouvement Démocratique), 28, who is running again, had only obtained a few votes more in 2022 than her opponent from the RN.
Read also | Article reserved for our subscribers 2024 Legislative Elections: After the Shock of the Dissolution, the Story of the Three Crazy Weeks of a Express Campaign
Add to your selections
The far-right candidate this time is Vincent Coussedière, a philosophy professor who teaches in Haut-Rhin. He is unknown in the constituency, but that doesn’t matter to Albert Franzen, 66, a former employee of the Kronenbourg brewery. This is not the first time he has voted for the RN, even if for the legislative elections, he “generally favors right-wing deputies anchored in the region. This time, [il] vote for national reasons: purchasing power, insecurity, immigration.” The pensioner admits that he is not confronted with these last two themes in this quiet village. “But just because we’re not directly affected doesn’t mean it’s not important.he justifies. We only see this in the media.”
You have 70.91% of this article left to read. The rest is reserved for subscribers.
