Green candidates scored well in the second round of the local elections in France. President Emmanuel Macron’s party was not doing well. In Paris, Anne Hidalgo (PS), supported by the greens, remains mayor. The extreme right won in Perpignan.
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The second round of the French municipal elections turned into a green wave yesterday. Lyon, the third city in France and until recently owned by macronist Gérard Collomb, will have a green mayor. The list is longer: Bordeaux, Strasbourg, Annecy, Besançon, Poitiers,… It makes the French greens, EELV (Europe Ecology-Les Verts) the main power on the left in France.
In Lille (Lille), which has been in socialist hands since 1955, PS mayor Martine Aubry can narrowly begin a fourth mandate. She narrowly held out against green candidate Stéphane Baly. PS Mayor Anne Hidalgo also remains in power in Paris, but with a much wider lead than Aubry. According to the French newspaper The world Hidalgo got about half of the votes. Its closest competitor, Rachida Dati of the right-wing party Les Républicains, would strand around 32 percent.
The right-wing extremist RN brought in Perpignan for the second time a city of more than 100,000 inhabitants (after Toulon in 1995).
The traditionally right-wing Les Républicains lost some important cities to the greens, but they survive in Toulouse and a host of medium-sized cities.
It was not a good evening for Macron’s party. La République en marche (LREM) has no local roots. The easy victory for Prime Minister Edouard Philippe in Le Havre is the only boost for Macron. Philippe was already mayor of the port city from 2010 to 2017. The question arises whether he will stay in Paris or move to the Norman city. There are rumors that Macron is looking for a (left and greener) replacement for his prime minister to revive his presidency. During the campaign, Philippe made it clear that he would not run the city while he was prime minister.
Initial reactions
Marine Le Pen, the president of the far-right Rassemblement national, welcomed her party’s “real big victory” in local elections in France on Sunday evening.
“This is not only a symbolic victory, a real click has been made because we will also be able to demonstrate that we are able to manage large communities,” said Le Pen on TF1 channel after it was revealed that her party member Louis Aliot is ahead in the city of Perpignan.
French President Emmanuel Macron was concerned about “the low turnout” in local elections. “That is not good news,” he says. About 40 percent of the voters showed up for the second round of the municipal elections. Macron also congratulated his Prime Minister Edouard Philippe with his ‘nice victory’ in Le Havre.
The traditional parties PS and LR do not have to blush. “We’ve been chaining the defeats for three years, but tonight is a win,” said AE Chairman Christian Jacob. In a short victory speech, Hidalgo (PS) said that the Parisians have ‘chosen hope’.
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