RIDING PORTRAIT. Before the legislative elections and the election of deputies, France 3 goes around the constituencies of Burgundy. Today, the 3rd district of Côte-d’Or, which includes the south of Dijon, Chenôve, Quetigny, Genlis.
Unlike other constituencies in Burgundy, the 3rd constituency of Côte-d’Or does not suffer from the desertification of the countryside. Here, access to public services is relatively easy. Schools, doctors, pharmacies, the overwhelming majority of inhabitants have these facilities in their own municipality of residence, a coverage rate higher than the French average. So what do the 108,000 inhabitants of the 3rd district of Côte-d’Or want? Before the election, France 3 went to meet them to know their aspirations, their political will, their anger.
–
We start in Dijon. In the street, we come across Katarina and Hervé, together for many years. Lady is “more on the left“, rather right-wing gentleman, “but a normal line, not a hard line“, he specifies. Despite their political differences, they share the same view when asked what new MPs should work on first. “Ecology above all, and education. These are really the two elements that can change everything“says Katarina. Her companion nods: “They should have done more on that already. Better supervised care at the nursery and primary level, because that’s where everything stems from. In addition, there was the Covid, and education was set aside, diminished.”
“And ecology, let’s not talk about it“, adds Katarina. “We should have acted years ago. Our future is fine, but it’s worrying for our children and our children’s children.“
“Our 28-year-old daughter is like, ‘Why have kids?’ It’s unfortunate to hear young people with that kind of point of view.”
Another couple, other concerns. Still in Dijon, Annick and Jean-François, both retired, say to themselves “not really interested” by the legislative elections. They are not sure of going to vote. Moreover, Jean-François has not voted for years. “The deputies, we know some of them because we see them on TV.“What interests them?”The first thing is safety“, says Annick. “We see so many things. We are no longer as peaceful as before. The police cannot be everywhere, they are not organized enough and they lack arms“, abounds her husband.
–
The two Dijonnais are also worried about their purchasing power, the first concern of the French during the presidential campaign. “We are part of the small retreats and it does not move much. The cost of living is rising, but pensions are not. It is more and more difficult.”
“When you’ve paid the rent, electricity, gas and everything else, there’s not much left to eat.”
Annick, from Dijon
Before touching his retirement, however meager it is, it is still necessary to access it. The decline in the minimum retirement age wanted by Emmanuel Macron still makes people cringe. It is even the first subject that comes to mind for Floriane, another Dijonnaise: “I’m 37, I don’t see myself going to 65. Let alone 67“Politically, she too says she is not interested in the elections. Left, right?”I do not care.“
Like Floriane, Annick and Jean-François, there are many disappointed with politics. In the central square of Quetigny, two friends, in their thirties, smoke cigarettes while passing the time. “I would like to vote, but I don’t know for whom“, released the first. “Anyway, it won’t change anything, we know very well that we are governed by the rich”, tackles his friend. He evokes Marine Le Pen, ordered to reimburse 300,000 euros to the European Parliament in the case of parliamentary assistants, and François Fillon, sentenced after the “Penelope gate”.
“We talk badly about people in the neighborhoods, but the politicians are the biggest thieves!”
–
From neighborhoods to the countryside, we find the same impression of not being among those who benefit from the money. “We, the workers, we work, but we do not earn more in the end than those who do nothing and receive social assistance“, laments Serge, municipal employee in Genlis. In work clothes, he takes advantage of a break in the shade on this day when the mercury rises to more than 30 degrees. In bulk, he would also like “improve purchasing power, increase wages and pensions a little – but not increase the retirement age!“
–
Same feeling with Sophie and Delphine, two fellow hairdressers in Genlis. “Employees and workers should be valued more than certain people who do not have a job or who are unemployed“, believes Delphine.
“There should be a bonus for people who get up at 6 a.m. to go to work, while others have all the help imaginable and do not make any effort. It is poorly distributed. We find that it is a bit unfair.”
–
In this 3rd district of Côte-d’Or, however, the rate of “active” adults is higher than the rest of France : 41.7% against 40.5%. In this territory, about 10% of the inhabitants are unemployed or inactive. This is less than the national average, which is around 12%.
Sophie, the hairdresser, would also like “promote certain professions that are not sufficiently recognized, such as ours: hairdressing does not pay very well“The two colleagues are apprehensive about the pension reform.
“It’s a tiring job. At 60, you don’t have the same vitality as at 20.”
“Retirement is a right, our ancestors fought for it and today we are being pushed back from the legal retirement age. And this despite the fact that we started our apprenticeship at 16!”
It must be said that the 3rd district has a majority of employees: they represent a third of the population. The other most represented socio-professional categories are the intermediate professions and workers, more numerous here than on the scale of the whole of France.
–
► On June 12 and 19, the inhabitants of the 3rd constituency of Côte-d’Or will have the choice: re-elect the outgoing MP, LREM Fadila Khattabi, or prefer one of the twelve other candidates.
–
–
Also candidates in this 3rd constituency of Côte-d’Or: Tarja Fauvet (Pirate Party), Bruno Louis (Various Ecologist) and Xavier Richard (Les Socialistes de Côte-d’Or – PRG)
–
