2024-07-04 13:32:57
Their faces are little (or not) known to their voters… And yet, they were able to call, without difficulty, for the second round. Several candidates chosen by the National Rally in the legislative elections have managed to get a respectable score in the first round, without managing a strong campaign, according to the headlines in the local press. Many profiles are pinned because they are not in place, or because they avoid interviews, or even debates, despite the complaints of their opponents who want a real fight before Sunday July 7.
In the list of so-called “ghost” candidates, Élodie Babin’s name appears prominently. This RN candidate, who came first in the first round in the 2nd district of Loiret, managed to get 32.91% of the votes. However, according to France Blue, the latter does not even advertise. The local radio indicates that he did not organize a public meeting, did not carry a poster or distribute a leaflet with his face… And his photo is not in his work of faith.
Contact, his colleague, Aleksandar Nikolic, also a member of the RN, told France Bleu that he suffers from Covid. Earlier, his replacement argued that he was absent due to “personal and professional constraints”. On the social networks, Élodie Babin has also made a lot of space for her colleague, often reinterpreting words from the latter, the newly elected MEP.
Interviews are rejected and substitutions are made in the field
In Ille-et-Vilaine, it was the candidate Françoise Gilois, who came second in the 5th district of Ille-et-Vilaine, who managed to gather 29.82% of the votes despite her discretion. “He was surprised (…), because he is a farmer. You have harvest and hay to do,” said his deputy, Jean-Pierre Mareschi, to explain his needs. Inside Dauphine LibreChristel Dupré, the candidate in Isère, said that he was “proud” but also “a little surprised” by his result of 34.04%, although he showed himself a little before the first one.
In Marseille, Monique Griseti is employed in a triangle against Pascaline Lécorché (New Popular Front) and Secretary of State Sabrina Agresti-Roubache (ENS) – who then withdraws to block the RN. The right-leaning MP also refused many interviews, pushing his nephew, Franck Allisio, head of the RN in Bouches-du-Rhône, to campaign on his behalf. Your mind is like that on, his rival Pascaline Lécorché described him as a “ghost competitor”. This Wednesday, he also called for a discussion with the candidate RN… Without response, according to La Provence.
Many candidates have some exposure in the local press. In the Rhône, Clémence Luisier, who is qualified by showing the photos of Jordan Bardella and Marine Le Pen only on his work of faith, seems not to speak in an interview … Which does not help him not to be prevented from received 24.96% of the votes in the 12th constituency of the department. The same thing in Dordogne, for Dominique-Louise Marchaudon, who came first with 36.01% of the votes in the 4th district, although she moved there a month ago.
“What matters is the symbol”
Some candidates have understood this well: to vote, it is better to make yourself small. At only 24 years old, Théo Bernhardt achieved the best score for the RN in Alsace (44.16%). Having graduated with a bachelor’s degree in scientific research, he beat the outgoing MP Horizons by more than 20 points, without even showing his face on his posters.
A priori paradoxical, this enthusiasm for candidates with little or no presence on the ground or in the media seems logical, and it is part of the “extreme exposure, transparent to the country of the legislative elections”, analyzes Rémi Lefebvre, professor of political science at the University of Lille. “What matters is no longer the local character, but the symbol of your group. We saw in 2017, with the Macronist candidates, LFI and RN, chosen with a photo of Macron, Mélenchon or Le Pen,” the expert continued, adding, jokingly: “Today, he put , a turtle with a poster affect. of Marine Le Pen or Bardella, it passes. »
For candidates, a dead genius is not only an option, it is also an obstacle. “Most of these groups are made up of many beginners, people entering politics, which have very few local activist resources. The RN only has fifteen town halls out of 35,000 municipalities,” added Rémi Lefebvre.
They write arguments
Without activists and without a dense local network, candidates do what they can, within their means. In the Gironde, the young Clémence Naveys-Dumas tried to put posters with his name in his area, as shown on Facebook. However, his face is invisible on his campaign ads. Only those of Marine Le Pen and Jordan Bardella appeared, presented as potential prime ministers of the future.
This taste for discretion continues for a second round, to the point that the refusal to intervene is increasing at the local level. France Blue it is 25 RN candidates do not want to limit the air of the group’s various regional stations. In the Landes, candidate Véronique Fossey even rejected the debate in the first round, criticizing her rival Geneviève Darrieussecq who used her time to attack her, according to her. Other aspiring agents say they don’t have time, are busy with their jobs, or cancel at the last minute.
The problem is still there Messenger Picard, who wanted to set up a debate between François Ruffin and his RN rival Nathalie Ribeiro Billet. France 3 pin also several RN candidates having walked off the platform. In Occitania, the candidate Frédéric Falcon also admitted to having “written a controversial opinion” on France 3 Languedoc, “given the offensive and insulting campaign” carried out against him. “I believe that this debate will bring nothing to the voters except cacophony,” he added. on. Others explain that they are simply too busy with their schedule.
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