Second round of regional elections held in France

The emerging leader, the moderate right-wing Republicans and their fellow travelers received over 35 percent of the vote in total, and will continue to lead a family from 12 regions of mainland France…The rest went to the socialists, who in a number of places entered into an alliance with the left and “green” parties.- less than ten percent.

The plans of Marine Le Pen’s “National Association” to come to power in at least one French region were not destined to come true.And this despite the fact that in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur region her candidate, the former Minister of Transport Thierry Mariani, was the leader of the first round.But in the second round, the entire bloc of the left and the Greens went over to the side of his rival – “Republican” Renault Muselier.As a result, Muselier collected 57 percent of the vote against Mariani’s 43.

RG asked the French writer and political scientist Dominique Jamet to comment on these results from the angle of the upcoming presidential elections in France in the spring of 2022.This is what he said:

– It was believed that the main contenders for the Elysee Palace at the moment are the incumbent President Emmanuel Macron and the leader of the “National Association” Marine Le Pen.But now, after the conservative Republicans have won it, it has become clear that its representative can also be a serious competitor in the upcoming battle.

This seems to be far from the best news for either Le Pen orMacron.It seems to me that Macron initially counted on a duel with the head of the National Union in the decisive second round of the spring 2022 elections.In this case, he could receive, as he did last time, the support of all who have a negative attitude towards Marine Le Pen: the left, the “green” and the centrists.Now it cannot be ruled out that his opponent will be a nominee of the right-wing movement, which included such iconic figures as former presidents of the country Jacques Chirac and Nicolas Sarkozy.And this is a completely different alignment.

As for Marine Le Pen, the revival of the traditional right-wing party may lead to a certain reorientation of part of its electorate, and then the question will arise: will it be able to break through to the final stage of the spring elections.

True, in order tosuch a scenario has come true; it is necessary for the traditional right to agree on a single candidate.The fact is that three politicians can claim this role.One of them, Xavier Bertrand, who won a victory in his region of Haute-de-France, has already announced his decision to run in the 2022 elections.Similar intentions, not yet formalized, have two other regional leaders – Valerie Pécresse (Ile-de-France) and Laurent Vauquez (Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes).So much will depend on whether the right can overcome personal ambitions for the sake of a common victoria.

And more.While the government’s Republic on the March party has indeed failed to take root on the ground, let’s not forget that in 2017, Emmanuel Macron managed to conquer the Elysee Palace without such support.After all, the difference between the presidential elections and others lies in the fact that a specific politician is elected to the main post in the state, and here a lot depends on his personality, authority and, let’s say, baggage.What will happen in the next six to eight months is hard to say.However, for now, Macron can write down for himself the success in the fight against the coronavirus epidemic, which made it possible to significantly weaken sanitary measures, cancel quarantine, and also somewhat revive the economic life of the country.