« The Republicans have returned to victory after the failure of the presidential, legislative, European Repeat the party leaders. Heavy losses, rich in symbolism, however, seem to temper such enthusiasm. Starting with Bordeaux, the city of Jacques Chaban-Delmas then Alain Juppé: not only for the first time since 1947 the right was forced to a second round, but in addition it ended in a defeat.
→ FIND the results of the second round of the 2020 municipal elections, city by city
And, except surprise Marseille, the second city in France, even if the left did not obtain the absolute majority of seats (50 out of 101), faced with an opposition divided between the right (42 seats) and the extreme right ( 9 seats). In total, the right loses fifty-seven cities of more than 30,000 inhabitants and gains eleven, ie a negative balance of forty-six mayors. It is therefore difficult to see it as a victory.
First strength of the territories
This negative assessment must nevertheless be qualified. The right remains the first force in the territories with 44% of cities with more than 30,000 inhabitants, against 34% for the left and 18% for the center. If the left remains stable, it is especially the center which progresses (from 2 to 18% of the cities concerned).
However, this progression of the center to the detriment of the right is almost always carried out because of the rallying of the outgoing mayor to the presidential majority. This is particularly the case for all IDUs (Brigitte Fouré in Amiens, Aude Lagarde in Drancy, André Santini in Issy-les-Moulineaux) or ex-LR Édouard Philippe (Le Havre, various centers), Christophe Béchu (Angers, various center), Gérald Darmanin (Tourcoing, LREM) and Guillaume Delbar (Roubaix, various center).
→ READ. Municipal 2020: the successful bet of Édouard Philippe in Le Havre
Usually, LR gave them support. This was certainly not the case for Prime Minister Édouard Philippe in Le Havre. A press release even specified that ” The Republicans do not support the list led by Édouard Philippe in Le Havre “And” take note Of the decision of its members therein to take leave from the party. But it was unprecedented that the first parliamentary opposition party did not present a candidate against the majority leader.
A win-win choice
Orleans, with the victory of Serge Grouard, is an exception. Elected in 2001, in June 2015 he entrusted his chair to his first deputy, Olivier Carré. Which went to the center by rallying the presidential majority after the Europeans of 2019, while Serge Grouard remained faithful to his political family. Sunday, Serge Grouard beat his former ally, whose candidacy was supported by LREM, and thus allowed the right to keep the Johannine city.
If the second-round anti-environmental coalitions between LREM and LR did not prevent the ecological left from winning in Lyon, Bordeaux and Strasbourg, the re-elected right-wing mayors were often so with the support, official or unofficial, from the first round, one or more components of the presidential majority, including LREM in Toulouse, Nice, Limoges, Caen, Rueil-Malmaison or Calais. This choice turned out to be a win-win.
For LR, who escaped competition within his electorate of a macronist list and for LREM, who, for lack of a well-established personality in many territories, opted for this strategy in order to obtain municipal councilors. ” Divisions on the right and in the center in some cities unfortunately caused us to lose some municipalities », Insists on the contrary Valérie Pécresse, whose party – Free! – conquered the communist stronghold of Champigny-sur-Marne.
The fact remains that these connections have blurred the lines by emphasizing the porosity between the right and the center. Whereas, to regain power, LR will have to distance himself from macronism in order to appear as an alternative. ” If the right wants to turn these local successes into a national victory, it still has a long way to go “, Underlines Bruno Retailleau, president of the LR group in the Senate and potential candidate for the presidential election.
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Municipal assessment for the right
Main cities won by the right: Metz, Champigny-sur-Marne, Noisy-le-Grand, La Seyne-sur-Mer, Clichy, Bondy, Choisy-le-Roi, Bron, Neuilly-sur-Marne, Auxerre, Villeneuve-Saint-Georges.
Kept by the right: Toulouse, Nice, Reims, Saint-Étienne, Toulon, Nîmes, Aix-en-Provence, Limoges, Boulogne-Billancourt, Orléans, Argenteuil, Mulhouse, Caen.
Lost on the right: Bordeaux, Tours, Annecy, Perpignan, Nancy, Colombes, Bourges, Quimper, Chambéry, Villejuif, Bobigny, Corbeil-Essonnes, Saint-Ouen-sur-Seine.
Main cities whose mayor from the right has moved to the center since 2017: Le Havre, Angers, Amiens, Tourcoing, Roubaix, Drancy, Issy-les-Moulineaux, Pessac, Niort, La Roche-sur-Yon, Vannes, Bayonne, Massy, Montrouge.
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