Duel on the left to represent Ariège in the National Assembly. The “rebellious” deputy Bénédicte Taurine, invested by the New People’s Ecological and Social Union (Nupes), and the dissident socialist Martine Forger will be opposed to the second round of a partial legislative, according to the results of the first round on Sunday. The Renaissance presidential party has collapsed.
Bénédicte Taurine, candidate officially supported by the Left Union, comes in first position (31.18% of the vote), ahead of her left-wing opponent, Martine Froger (26.42%), supported by local Socialist Party executives ( PS) and the president of Occitania Carole Delga.
The National Rally (RN) candidate, Jean-Marc Garnier, comes third (24.78%), far ahead of the Macronist candidate, Anne-Sophie Tribout (10.69%), who was in the second round in May 2022. Next is the Reconquest candidate! François-Xavier Jossinet (2.77%), the unlabeled Robert Claraco (2.2%), and Gisèle Lapeyre of Lutte Ouvrière (1.96%).
The 2022 election was canceled in season by an error in the distribution of RN ballots, which deprived Marine Le Pen’s party of a qualification for the second round.
Last year, the 46-year-old “rebellious” totaled 33% of the vote in the first round. The majority candidate Anne-Sophie Tribout (19.96%) had risen to the second round, the RN and PS candidates had respectively gathered 19.94% and 18.07% of the votes.
Progress you RN
A pattern very different from that which is emerging, nine months later, in a context of strong tensions against the pension reform, and against a background of the rise of the RN in this rural and mountainous territory. In these lands acquired from the left, the far-right party has progressed by almost five points compared to the first round of 2022.
Even if she loses a little ground, Bénédicte Taurine says she is “satisfied” with the result and hopes for “better mobilization in the second round”, on April 2. Turnout reached 39.4% on Sunday.
The scenario of this second round is identical to that of the other constituency of Ariège, when, in 2022, the dissident socialist Laurent Panifous had faced and beaten the outgoing deputy LFI Michel Larive. “With Ms. Froger, a dissident socialist, we are in the same configuration as in the 2nd constituency, recognizes Ms. Taurine. We are going to look for the abstainers. »
For his part, Kamel Chibli, vice-president of the Occitanie region, close to Carole Delga who supported Ms. Froger, highlights the strong progress of the socialist candidate: “We are increasing everywhere, but it is the RN more than LFI which capitalizes on the national mobilization [against pension reform], and the collapsing Renaissance candidate. »
“Republican Disclaimer”
In a press release published in the evening, the Socialist Party said it regretted “that the presence of two left-wing candidates in the first round did not allow a victory today” and “invites Republican withdrawal, traditional on the left , of the candidate who came in second place”.
“There should be no confusion about the interpretation to be given of the result of the second round. The duels on the left cannot be arbitrated by the right and the far right, “says the leadership of the PS, which calls for preserving” the gathering of the whole left “.
Sign of the oppositions which persist within the new direction of the PS, Refondations, the current of the number two of the party, Nicolas Mayer-Rossignol, hastened to condemn a press release which “has not been the subject of any validation , nor by the collegiate management, nor by the national office”. He called once again to vote for Martine Froger: “In Ariège, there is now no risk that the right or the far right will win. We socialists therefore support the socialist candidate. Seriousness, clarity, rejection of populism, elected official: these are her values. These are our values. »
The presidential Renaissance party, for its part, called on Twitter “to vote unequivocally for the candidate of the Socialist Party Martine Froger, in the face of those who want to destabilize our institutions”.
