Municipal 2020: after the green wave, the return of the left in the foreground?

And suddenly hope is allowed again on the left side. By winning in most major French cities, Sunday June 28, during the second round of the municipal elections, the candidates from this political family have rekindled the flame among their supporters and made them forget, the space of an electoral evening , the historic defeats of 2017.

While Europe Écologie-Les Verts (EELV) had hitherto managed only one large city, Grenoble, since 2014, the list of green winners continued to grow on Sunday evening: Grégory Doucet in Lyon, Jeanne Barseghian in Strasbourg, Pierre Hurmic in Bordeaux - city held by the right for 73 years -, Emmanuel Denis in Tours, François Astorg in Annecy, Anne Vignot in Besançon, Léonore Moncond'huy in Poitiers and, perhaps, while waiting for the " third round ", Michèle Rubirola in Marseille.

The Greens had never known such success in municipal elections. One year after their good score in the European elections, in 2019, their new status as central force on the left is now perpetuated.

# Municipales2020 Paris, Lyon, Bordeaux, Strasbourg, Marseille, Lille ... update on results in major cities https://t.co/NIdE3hdde0 pic.twitter.com/eS3VQrQxBv

The performance of EELV candidates is all the more spectacular since they are, for the most part, unknown to the general public and that they have managed to prevail, most often, in the face of alliances between Les Républicains (LR) and The Republic on the Move (LREM). Few executives of the green party would have bet on a victory for Pierre Hurmic in Bordeaux against the outgoing mayor and runner-up of Alain Juppé, Nicolas Florian, allied with the macronist Thomas Cazenave.

Similarly in Strasbourg, where environmentalists could legitimately fear that the last minute alliance between LR and LREM would make them lose their lead in the first round, especially in the absence of an agreement with the former socialist mayor Catherine Trautmann. But Jeanne Barseghian crushed her competitor with about eight points ahead.

"What has won is the desire for a concrete ecology, in action, which offers solutions on travel, housing, food, how to weave the local economy", rejoiced on TF1 Yannick Jadot, MEP and former head of the EELV list for Europeans, seeing "a hope around the ecological project".

"Let’s continue to cultivate the common, more than chapel separatism"

But beyond the "green wave" that marked the second round of the municipal elections, the detail of the victories obtained by the environmentalists shows that these were possible thanks to the alliances formed with the Socialist Party (PS), La France rebellious (LFI), the Communist Party (PCF) and Génération.s. Alone, EELV is exposed to defeats, like Stéphane Baly to whom he missed a few votes, Sunday evening, to dislodge the socialist Martine Aubry in Lille.

>> Read: Citizen's climate convention: the hour of truth for Emmanuel Macron

The national secretary, Julien Bayou, was also not mistaken. "By 2022, for the upcoming deadlines, let's continue to cultivate the common, more than chapel separatism," he said. The boss of EELV probably also had in mind the Marseille example of Michèle Rubirola, first suspended from the party for refusing the independent logic of the management and then being supported after coming in first in the first round thanks to the union of left.

A historic evening for ecology.
We are happy and modest at the same time.
The responsibility is immense.
Nothing can stop an idea whose time has come. # Municipales2020 #vaguevertehttps: //t.co/LgEwyIjnDs

The Socialist Party also had a wonderful evening. In the shadow of the victories won by EELV, Anne Hidalgo won in Paris, Johanna Rolland won in Nantes, Michaël Delafosse delighted Montpellier, Nathalie Appéré kept Rennes, François Rebsamen was re-elected in Dijon, Stéphane Le Foll l won at Le Mans, etc.

Ardent defender of the rally of the left since his accession to the post of first secretary of the PS, Olivier Faure comes out comforted from this - long - sequence of municipal and wants to believe in a political turning point, three years after the election of Emmanuel Macron. "A huge momentum is rising over all of France, he said. The whole left and environmentalists are winning tremendous victories. This is what is happening, we have something in this country that is happening to be born, a social-ecological block which must now be consolidated. "

For these #municipal elections, it is through socialist and ecological lists that citizens expressed their expectations for change. Wherever we were gathered, we are stronger and we are gaining the confidence of the French. The wave is here.
My reaction 👇 https://t.co/ymgVHpFiR4

Greens perform less outside metropolitan areas

All the representatives of the various left political forces held a similar speech on Sunday evening, each wanting to take advantage of the light at their level.

For Benjamin Lucas, spokesperson for Génération.s, the party founded by Benoît Hamon, "a new democratic breathing is possible with the environmentalists and the left for climate and social justice. Let us be up to par, let’s prepare the rally the change in 2022, "he tweeted.

Something is going on in the country tonight. A new democratic breathing is possible with the environmentalists and the left for the climate and social justice. Let's be up to the challenge, let's prepare the rally for change in 2022! # Unit # Municipales2020

For Fabien Roussel, national secretary of the PCF, a party which loses its historic stronghold of Saint-Denis in favor of the socialist Mathieu Hanotin, "a turning point is taken for more social justice and more ecology. Even if abstention reaches a record , the signal sent to the President of the Republic and his majority is clear: the French do not want his policy in their city or in the country. "

>> Read: Faced with Macron and Le Pen, can the environmentalist left unite?

"This is the first great victory of the left in eight years" and the victory of François Hollande in the presidential election of 2012, welcomed Pierre Jouvet, spokesperson for the PS. "The challenge today is not who the Greens or the socialists have won. We have shown that together, we are capable of raising hope. It must be the first step in the reconstruction of a capable left to win in 2022, "he added.

Be careful, however, not to base local results on a possible national dynamic. A recent Ifop-Fiducial presidential poll gave Yannick Jadot (EELV) just 8% in the first round. The performance of the Greens is also "much worse outside or around metropolitan areas", underlines with AFP Émeric Bréhier, director of the Observatory of political life at the Jean-Jaurès Foundation.

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