A few days before historic French legislative elections where the far right could take power, La Matinale de la RTS went to Pontarlier to take the pulse of a regional town which feels abandoned by the public authorities.
In Pontarlier, a neighboring French town of 17,000 inhabitants, the far-right National Rally (RN) party came first in the recent European elections, as in nine out of ten French municipalities. Guest in La Matinale, Patrick Genre, mayor of Pontarlier for 25 years, does not really say he is surprised by this vote.
“I would say that this corresponds to an underlying trend which has been expressed for a certain number of years, where a certain number of voters do not find themselves in what is displayed and what is carried out by certain and some, and are tempted to look elsewhere,” explains the center-right elected official, who is not attached to a party.
>> Read also: Gabriel Attal, Jordan Bardella and Emmanuel Bompard cross swords during the debate on the legislative elections
Patrick Genre awaits the elections of June 30 and July 7 with a certain apprehension: “We talk a lot about the elections, indeed, in the family sphere, in the professional sphere, between elected officials. We have this wall of organization to put in place to the elections. July 7 is the first holiday weekend. So there is also the logistical difficulty of setting up the polling stations.
Deep anger
In the streets, spirits are boiling in view of these legislative elections. The momentum for the National Rally reflects a deep and distant anger, according to a party sympathizer, a butcher in Morteau.
“Since 2002, the French have been sending out warning signals saying ‘be careful, during the first round we gave you a little punishment vote to tell you that we are not happy’. Well there, the The French are so fed up that even in the second round, they will take a sanction vote. Anyway, it can’t be worse.”
>> His interview in La Matinale:
An egg and vegetable producer from Pontarlier also shares his disgust with those in power. For him, the rise of the RN “is a consequence of the policies that we have been subjected to for years, of the stigmatization of social assistance, and perhaps also of a failure of social democracy”.
However, he does not hide his dislike for the far-right party. “Not a voice for the National Rally. I think they have hidden racism, but it is still there. Their xenophobia is obvious. And if we say today that the left is fractured there- above, for me, it is a party which is open to everyone.”
>> His interview in La Matinale:
Insecurity in question
Floriane Jeandenand, a former police officer and RN candidate in the 5th constituency of Doubs — which includes Pontarlier — believes that insecurity is growing in the region. “I’ve seen it on the ground. There are young girls who tell me ‘we can’t go out anymore’. The insecurity is there, it’s definitely there.” And she cites her experience as a police officer: “I stopped ten years ago, but when I stopped, it was already catastrophic. Now, it’s worse.”
A finding that is not shared by Matthieu Cassez, candidate for the left-wing alliance “New Popular Front” in the same constituency. “There is no serious study that can show that there is insecurity.” For him, the examples cited by Floriane Jeandenand are just news items.
According to him, the disintegration of public services in rural areas is one of the explanations for the rise of the National Rally. “When you try to make an appointment with the doctor, when you have to go to a specialist, it becomes super complicated. You also have difficulty finding a place in after-school education. It’s really a problem of degradation, which is the result of twenty years of budgetary austerity policy.”
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