- The candidate of The Republic on the march Carole Gandon will be the main opponent to the union list of the left led by Nathalie Appéré.
- Disappointed with her score in the first round (14%), the candidate wishes to "register for the long term" and ensures that "the match is not played".
- His list would like to rely on the employment and economy component to attract voters.
She will face a mountain. Credited with 14% of the votes on the evening of the first round of the municipal election in Rennes, Carole Gandon advances as the main rival of the outgoing mayor Nathalie Appéré, whose list has merged with that of the environmentalists led by Matthieu Theurier. Can the candidate of La République en Marche beat a united left that has held the reins of Rennes since 1977? "The match is not played," she says with a smile. After two months of pause in the electoral campaign, the candidate has not lost her optimism. "20 Minutes" asked her about her ambitions.
On June 28, you will be opposed to Nathalie Appéré and Charles Compagnon in a triangular that seems very favorable to the outgoing mayor. How do you approach it?
The match is not played. Many think so, but not us. I regret that the merger with the list of Charles Compagnon could not be done. I wanted it and I worked hard to make it happen. But we remain mobilized. We do not refrain from going to the markets, to meet the locals. Our objective is to have a strong participation, a strong mobilization towards the ballot boxes, to continue the dynamic.
Results of the municipal elections in Rennes
How do you see your first round score?
Our March 15 score was disappointing. It does not reflect the two years of work and our dynamism. But it must be remembered that a year ago, I was unknown to the people of Rennes. We started from nothing. It's already a good first step. We see that the results of the PS are eroding from election to election. There is a desire for renewal that quivers in Rennes. We want to embody the voice of the people who voted for us. We are the future of Rennes.
In the event of a defeat on the evening of June 28, do you intend to sit on the municipal council?
I'll meet you on June 28, we will discuss on the basis of the results. But I do intend to continue to carry the voice of our constituents with my team. We are long term. An election is also a debate of ideas and we see that ours spread.
You have been hard on Nathalie Appéré's allied environmentalists lately. You had, however, assured that you did not want to be in "clearance". Has the fusion of the left changed your outlook?
There is neither clearance nor free bashing. I know how to salute what works as I did with the land tenure office. But my role is also to point out what is malfunctioning, in particular on security issues or on the provisional arrangements in the city center which were carried out without any consultation. My criticisms are on the substance, they bring the debate to life.
The first pillar of your campaign is based on jobs and the economy. What are your avenues for dealing with the coming crisis?
We were the only ones talking about jobs during the campaign. The unemployment figures in Rennes are not exactly what we think. Unemployment is very high in the districts. It is to be expected to increase further. We have to work on a recovery strategy. There is an urgent need to launch major projects such as the extension of metro lines, to speed up the renovation of schools and public buildings. I regret that the building permit investigation was interrupted during confinement.
We also want the Hôpital Sud site to be able to accommodate jobs, perhaps a nursery for medico-social businesses and social and solidarity economy structures. We also want to support the creation of a second chance school for those who have neither a diploma nor a job.
We also want to have a metropolitan-wide economic development strategy. We need to create jobs outside the city center. The food industry or the automobile must be better supported. You have to go find companies and encourage them to set up in the metropolis by proposing an attractive land strategy or support mechanisms such as spouse monitoring.
You also insist on supporting downtown commerce ...
It is one of our pillars. We have developed a plan called “SOS commerce” which aims to help traders in the city center. The latest improvements have been made without any consultation. The temporality is catastrophic. We propose to introduce free public transport every Saturday until the end of the year. We also want to maintain the Vilaine car park and enlarge the Kléber car park. We need to rethink the traffic flows in the city center. It is also important to reconnect with merchants and their representatives and develop an e-commerce platform. There is not even a business directory in Rennes.
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Elections
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- LREM
- Elections
- Carole Gandon
- Nathalie Appéré
- Reindeer
- Municipal