The LREM candidate in the municipal elections in Rennes Carole Gandon. Here in June 2020. - C. Allain / 20 Minutes

  • Nearly 90,000 text messages were sent to people from Rennes to encourage them to vote on Sunday in the second round of the municipal elections, and to discover the program of the LREM candidate, Carole Gandon.
  • "It's completely framed," says Olivier Dulucq, running mate of Carole Gandon. “We have no name, no phone number, no identity. We had a contract with a service provider, who clearly specified that he was external ”

On Monday, 89,000 Rennes residents received an unusual text message. "We are counting on you for the second round of the municipal elections on June 28," says the signed message from Carole Gandon's team. The campaign led by the candidate LREM for the mayor of Rennes found a funny echo on social networks. Many internet users have at best been surprised to have been contacted in this way. Others expressed their anger at a process they considered intrusive. "It's completely framed," says Olivier Dulucq, running mate of Carole Gandon. “We have no name, no phone number, no identity. We signed a contract with a service provider, who specified that he was external ”.

Like a lot of people at #rennes, I received an SMS from Carole Gandon's campaign team. I asked myself the question of how this SMS could have arrived. A thread ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/xrdbwOe13A

- Walter Mickael (@MickaelWalter) June 23, 2020

Several reports have been sent to the National Commission for Data Protection (CNIL) as required by law. The web gendarme even took care to contact the candidate "in order to ask her about the processing of her prospects' data", specifies the CNIL which assures "not to be able to say more at this stage".

The results of the first round in Rennes

The contract, whose amount is estimated at 17,000 euros, was awarded to the company Adrexo, which presents itself as "the first private operator in the distribution of physical and digital advertising printed matter". "It was cheaper for us than the boxing (sending leaflets to the letterbox)", specifies Olivier Dulucq. If they were able to unsubscribe easily by sending "stop" in response to text messages, many prospects wondered how the company obtained their phone number. These files are in fact provided by various providers such as online shopping sites, banks or insurance companies that sell lists of names.

Before the first round, the candidate of the National Rally Emeric Salmon had sent 140,000 text messages and calls to Rennes with a process similar to that of the campaign team of Carole Gandon. With a rather limited effect. His list had obtained only 4.5% of the votes in the Breton capital.

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Municipales 2020 in Rennes: "The match is not played", promises LREM candidate Carole Gandon

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