On the Salindres market (Gard), he declaims verses aloud this Friday, April 15 in the morning. Challenges the dumbfounded passers-by who, in front of the stalls of the butchers and cheese makers, wait their turn. Communist activist, it is with his hat as a man of letters that Denis Lanoy recites poems by the writer Rémi Checchetto in this town located on the outskirts of Alès (50,000 inhabitants). Here, the National Rally (RN) won 41.31% in the first round of the presidential election, the Reconquête! of Eric Zemmour 7.77%. In 2017, Marine Le Pen won 37.41% of the vote in the first round.
This quiet village of 3,000 inhabitants illustrates the breakthrough of the far right in the Alesian mining area, historically marked by union and communist culture. The RN, already very established in the south of the department, is anchored more and more to the east and is now camped in areas where left-wing activists are present and roam the ground. Emmanuel Négrier, CNRS research director in political science at the Center for Political and Social Studies (Cepel), specialist in the Occitanie region, observes this growing phenomenon. “If we look at the Le Pen vote in the Gard, there is a marked progression from the bastion of the Camargue towards the east of the department to the Cévennes. What, forty years ago, seemed unimaginable with scores for the far right at 25% in the Camargue is now largely exceeded in the Gard hinterland. And Zemmour, which we thought would divide the vote, on the contrary increases it and brings voice resources to the National Rally. »
In Bessèges, a former industrial town where disused warehouses follow one another, the RN won almost 34.91% of the vote. These are only almost two points more compared to 2017, but Eric Zemmour has achieved 6.88% of the votes. In a neighboring village, Saint-Ambroix, the far right won 46% of the vote. “It’s amazing, even heartbreaking”confides a “rebellious”, Alain Martin, who continues to campaign on the markets while harboring regrets: “We thank the voters for having voted Mélenchon. We felt a turnaround during the campaign, Mélenchon was no longer perceived as the loudmouth, but that was not enough. » This 67-year-old activist repeats it: “We make Marine Le Pen see as the people’s candidate, but it’s quite the opposite! We demonized her so much by comparing her to Zemmour, here is the result. » For him, the second round is no longer even a dilemma: “I’m going to vote Mélenchon again, I kept a ballot, and I’m going to put it back in the envelope. »
You have 52.54% of this article left to read. The following is for subscribers only.