Headlines: record abstention and vague environmentalist

Audio 03:52

By: Frédéric Couteau Follow

Publicity

It is the great title of Ouest France this morning which synthesizes the two great lessons of these municipal elections.

"  The participation rate was terribly low in the first round, the newspaper recalls, 44.3%. The Covid-19's fault and the fear of contamination, of course. An argument that no longer held in the second round yesterday, whose participation rate (40%) was even worse than March 15. The new delay of three months between the two polls has something to do with it. Deconfinement too. The French did not have the head to vote.  "

And then this green wave, tip West France  : “  The Greens had never obtained such results in local elections. Used to figuration at municipal level, they confirm their performance to Europeans by winning a slew of big cities, including Lyon, Bordeaux (to everyone's surprise), Strasbourg, Poitiers, Annecy, Tours or Besançon.  "

The surprise of Bordeaux

Bordeaux… we linger there: with the surprise victory of a quasi-unknown. "  Outsmarting most forecasts, Pierre Hurmic brings down the regional capital, which veers to the left after 73 years of reign of the center right , exclaims Sud-Ouest . Surreal scene last night at the Palais Rohan : the outgoing Nicolas Florian, the mine closed, announces his defeat in the salons of the town hall while, in the courtyard, resound the "We won!" supporters of Pierre Hurmic arrived at the same time. The left had dreamed of it, the ecologist did it : he will be the man of work-study in Bordeaux. It is a thunderclap, especially since Pierre Hurmic was given largely behind, by 9 points, in the last poll published ten days ago. He has made an impressive comeback. The alternation register that he constantly defended throughout the campaign spoke to the people of Bordeaux.  "

So, "  no ," exclaims Le Parisien , " ecology is no longer this fanciful movement which is illustrated during an election and which destroys its capital by internal struggles. It is a bottom line carried by a collective awareness.  "

Greens transform European test

"  Ecology on the move  ", launches Liberation on the first page. “  Carried by ecological awareness, no doubt favored by the examination of conscience imposed by confinement, reinforced by the mobilization of the young generations, the Greens are transforming the test of Europeans and find themselves for the first time at the helm of 'important executives. (…) Two victims also point to Liberation  : democracy first, undermined by a record rate of abstention ; the presidential party then, which misses its attempt at implantation and depends more than ever on the fate of its only leader : a pyramid without base or a head without body, as we like. Remain two shadows for the left , still notes Liberation  : weak in this ballot, the RN wins a big city, Perpignan, a worrying victory. The right, finally, looks up, keeping the majority of cities with more than 9,000 inhabitants. For the suddenly green left, the road is still long. But it has just taken a step.  "

Macron : refocusing on the right ?

Le Figaro recognizes this: "  Political ecology was a virtuality, it is becoming - in any case in urban France - a reality ... A reality that citizens of metropolitan areas, for better or for worse, will now experience ... Lyon, Marseille, Bordeaux, Strasbourg, Poitiers, Besançon, Tours ... the green is on, and the whole political landscape is turned upside down. For the RN, who could have hoped to take advantage of the anxiety and dissatisfaction surrounding them and who, except in Perpignan is treading water, it is annoying. For Les Républicains, who wanted to kick off the reconquest, it's frustrating: the green wave takes second place their good results in rural France, small towns and medium-sized cities. But it is for Emmanuel Macron's party that failure is the most scathing , points Le Figaro  : the President of the Republic dreamed of changing the game by rooting his political family in the heart of the country ; he will have to give it up.  "

And now, writes the newspaper: "  The head of state must turn without procrastinating on the side where the voters who remain have him : in the center and on the right, which he must imperatively federate if he wants to have, between the RN persistent and the left challenged, of an electoral base large enough to approach the election of 2022 with some chance of winning.  "

Macron : the green shift ?

In the meantime, notes La Dépêche du Midi , “  for Emmanuel Macron and his government, this second round of municipal elections sounds like an obvious challenge. Ecology, if not just a political label, has become one of the major concerns of the French. Starting today, by welcoming the members of the Climate Convention, the Head of State will have to find convincing words and, above all, take strong actions that stick to the message sent by the voters and at the same time respond to the anxieties of the country. The President who, in his last speech, aspired to chart a "united and ecological" path in the future is, in a way, at the foot of the wall.  "

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