Home » News » Toulouse, Marseille, Lyon, Bordeaux, Lille… these cities which could pass under the flag EELV

Toulouse, Marseille, Lyon, Bordeaux, Lille… these cities which could pass under the flag EELV

The environmentalists of EELV are able to win several major cities in the second round of municipal elections on 28 June and thus take a major step forward in their history. But they must overcome the uncertainties introduced by the crisis of the sars coronavirus.

The Greens have undeniably earned their bet on the eve of the first round on march 15, performing in the urban centres of scores ever seen for a party hitherto confined to supporting roles at the local level, behind the socialists.

Either by taking the head of a union more or less complete (Toulouse, Grenoble, Bordeaux, Besançon) or by providing a list of stand-alone (Lyon, Lille, Strasbourg), EELV has emerged as the force the most dynamic on the left, even if the PS and the PCF have shown a great resistance.

The performance was boosted by “unprecedented visibility of environmental issues” in the campaign, notes a study of teacher-researchers at Sciences Po Grenoble Florent Gougou and Simon Persico for the Foundation of political ecology.

However, EELV is going to have to redo arise these issues after the interruption of three months due to the crisis of the coronavirus, which has given the first role to the incumbent mayor.

“A health crisis can lead to reflexes conservatives, and there are conservative opponents”, admits Gregory Doucet, who, with 28.5% of the vote is arrived in head to Lyon. “There is a real political work to explain that the health crisis is the symptom of a more general crisis”, he says.

Then, the national secretary of EELV Julien Bayou repeat interview after interview that “it is an ecological crisis which comes from the living, and has been exacerbated by the trade in tense flow and short-term profitability”.

Jeanne Barseghian, which has largely outstripped its competitors in Strasbourg, with nearly 28 per cent, stated: “The aspirations green are reinforced with the health crisis, the closure of the markets was a very bad experience, it was difficult to provide fresh produce and there is therefore a desire to consume local, organic, healthy”.

The surprise marseillaise

But the crisis has also perhaps had the unfortunate consequence for the environmentalists to allow time for the alliances between the right and LREM to build, real obstacles in the conquest of the city councils.

Jeanne Barseghian in may be the victim of the most obvious, she says the “shock” that represented the covenant, “a 15-minute filing of lists”, between Alain Fontanel (LREM) and the candidate of the Republicans.

In the absence of an agreement with the former mayor and candidate for PS Catherine Trautmann, it is no longer a clear favorite to win. “It was necessary to do everything to prevent the victory of the environmentalists”, plague-t-it.

Stone Hurmic made the same observation in Bordeaux. 96 voices of deviations only separated in the first round of the mayor LR outbound Nicolas Florian. But the latter concluded an alliance with the walker Thomas Cazenave. “The two adversaries, who have campaigned very hard against one another, became best friends in the world,” quips Mr. Hurmic.

In Lyon, the media manoeuvre of the former socialist and walker Gérard Collomb, who is allied with the right, relaunch the battle for the city, as Bruno Bernard had dominated until then.

But, in between the two towers has not provided more bad news to environmentalists who are also on Eric Piolle to keep the town hall of Grenoble, only larger city being managed by Green.

In Toulouse, Antoine Maurice, who with 27.5% close on the heels of the outgoing RL, Jean-Luc Moudenc, has benefited from the rallying of the PS, the PCF and of Generations to complete its alliance with BIA in an “Archipelago of the citizen”.

In Marseilles, the official candidate of EELV Sébastien Barles pulled up behind the union of the left, worn by… the ecologist Michele Rubirola, came top in march, and which has serious chances to overthrow the heir of Jean-Claude Gaudin, Martine Vassal (LR).

After many bisbilles to the left in the months prior to the first round, the environmentalists are doing well in the phocean city and the conquest of the second city of France will produce a clap of thunder resounding.

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