Yellow vests in Puy-en-Velay, in November 2018. - THIERRY ZOCCOLAN / AFP

  • For the 2020 municipal elections, a “yellow vests” shade was created by the government. Only ten lists have this label among municipalities with more than 3,500 inhabitants.
  • "Yellow vests" appear on lists not stamped as such, but ranging from the far left to the far right, or sometimes non-partisan.
  • Their demand for a RIC, for a citizens' initiative referendum, was also taken up by candidates of all stripes.

Born more than a year ago, the "yellow vests" movement has finally taken hold in the French political landscape. But despite the mobilization on the roundabouts a few months earlier, he had not found electoral outlets during the European elections in May 2019. Will it be otherwise for the municipal elections of March 15 and 22? For this ballot, the lists labeled “yellow vests” are very few, but some figures of the movement are in campaign, dispersed on lists of alliance or non-partisan. Without counting some flagship measures, which have made a place for themselves in the programs. 20 Minutes takes stock.

Ten nuanced lists "yellow vests"

In the register of candidates for municipal elections published by the Ministry of the Interior, only ten lists appear in the category "yellow vests" - a novelty of this election, this political nuance having been created by a circular from Christophe Castaner. It should be noted that this nuancing is allocated by the prefecture upon declaration by the candidates, for municipalities with more than 3,500 inhabitants only.

Two lists "yellow vests" are presented in Vaucluse (in Cavaillon and Pertuis), two in Reunion (La Possession and Saint-Denis) and one in Gard (Bagnols-sur-Cèze), Haute-Garonne (Revel) , Hérault (Frontignan), Isère (Saint-Clair-du-Rhône), Haute-Marne (Saint-Dizier) and Meuse (Commercy).

Figures scattered on various lists

If the movement has always refused any spokesperson, several local figures had emerged. Some have embarked on the municipal campaign, such as Côme Dunis. Mediatized figure of the “Cacahuète” roundabout, near Montargis (Loiret), the former salesman is a candidate not far from there, in Paucourt, facing the outgoing mayor. "The movement of" yellow vests "is a thing of the past, I don't look in the retro," he told France Bleu Orléans, justifying his commitment by his attachment to his hometown.

In Essonne, in Vigneux-sur-Seine, Benjamin Cauchy is running for the town hall with the support of Nicolas Dupont Aignan's party, Debout la France, of which he has become the spokesperson. In Gironde, in Cubnezais, Patrice Manterola, civil servant and "yellow vest from the start", leads the list of RN.

Other "yellow vests" are not at the top of the list. In Louviers (Eure), the nurse Ingrid Levavasseur is in second position on the list of Philippe Brun, supported by EELV, LFI, the PCF. “Yellow vests” are on the LFI lists in Nantes and Bobigny.

However, Jacline Mouraud, Jean-François Barnaba and Christophe Chalençon are not candidates, despite their attempts. The first, a Briton of 52 who had arrested Emmanuel Macron in a video that has gone viral, was dropped from a list in Bohal (Morbihan). The second, who was on the list of Florian Philippot (Les Patriotes) at the Europeans in 2019 (0.65%), threw in the towel at Blanc (Indre). As for the third, he gave up filing his list at the prefecture to be a candidate in Sault (Vaucluse), citing a "lack of skills".

RIC in some programs

If the "yellow vests" do not appear often on the ballots, one of their main demands is found in the programs of other candidates. The citizens' initiative referendum, or RIC, is broken down into "municipal RIC" by the LFI candidates in Châteauroux, the EELV and RN lists in Le Havre or that of the UPR in Le Mans.

The "yellow vests" are also organized to be heard outside the ballot boxes. In Aveyron, they want to hold a referendum on pension reform for voters outside the polling station. This local initiative could spread to other regions.

Society

Aveyron: "Yellow vests" want to take advantage of the municipal elections to organize a referendum on pensions

Municipal

Municipal: The ex "yellow vest" Jacline Mouraud excluded from a list in Brittany

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