Following the first round of the legislative elections in the Hautes-Pyrénées region, the situation remains the same in both constituencies. National Rally candidates Marie-Christine Sorin and Olivier Monteil are in first place with a clear lead. New Popular Front candidates Sylvie Ferrer and Denis Fégné are in second place. Presidential majority candidates Jean-Bernard Sempastous and Benoît Mounet are in third place. The other candidates are far behind.
The risk of a three-way race narrowly avoided
In the 1st constituency, three candidates can maintain their position as they receive more than 12.5% of registered voters:
Marie-Christine SORIN (RN) who receives 23.21% of registered voters and 34.06% of the votes cast
Sylvie FERRER (UG) who receives 20.09% of registered voters and 29.49% of the votes cast
Jean-Bernard SEMPASTOUS (DIV) who receives 16.92% of registered voters and 24.84% of the votes cast
The same is true in the 2nd constituency:
Olivier MONTEIL (RN) who receives 25.35% of registered voters and 36.96% of the votes cast
Denis FÉGNÉ (UG) who receives 19.27% of registered voters and 28.09% of the votes cast
Benoit MOURNET (ENS), who received 17.09% of registered voters and 24.91% of votes cast
The probability of the third candidate achieving a relative majority in the second round being almost zero, the question of withdrawal arose on Sunday evening.
But Jean-Bernard Sempastous initially announced that he would remain, tweeting I cannot resign myself to leaving you the choice between the crevasse and the precipice
. Before announcing the opposite the next day.
And Benoît Mournet announced that there was no decision for the moment
on Sunday evening, while the Renaissance party announced that in the constituencies where our candidates came in third place, we will withdraw in favor of candidates capable of beating the National Rally and with whom we share the essential: the values of the Republic
. And he finally withdrew the next day, explaining that the vote gap with the National Rally is too great to consider a three-way race, which would only make sense between three candidates neck and neck. Therefore, as a matter of responsibility, I have decided not to continue for this second round.
Withdrawals are a long time coming, where staying in the race had no chance of leading to the election.
No Republican Front
The Republican Front, aimed at blocking the victory of the National Rally candidate, requires that the candidates who came in third place withdraw and call for a vote for the candidate facing the National Rally candidate. A call to vote that does not signify support or adherence to the platform.
The withdrawal finally took place. But the least we can say is that it was a long time coming, and that support for the New Popular Front candidate is either there... or absent. Like Jean-Bernard Sempastous, who pits the two remaining candidates in the running to win the 1st constituency against each other. We are facing two candidates. The outgoing MP from La France Insoumise, who was conspicuous by her absence but also by her very surprising positions. Far from defending the territory, she took a very Parisian and activist position. On the other side, we have an activist from the National Rally, inexperienced and who has made numerous unspeakable remarks that we cannot share and that I strongly condemn.
And to conclude, we hope that the RN will not have an absolute majority next week and that La France Insoumise will not either.
The key is a lack of voting instructions that rely on the freedom of voters. But also a lack of expression of personal positions. For his part, Benoît Mournet is closer politically to Denis Fégné of the Socialist Party than Jean-Bernard Sempatous is to Sylvie Ferrer of La France Insoumise. But that is not enough to provide support. We know that Denis Fégné respects republican principles, as he demonstrates in the exercise of his local mandates. But, in light of the results of the first round, there is now no longer any possibility that the economic program of the NFP dominated by LFI will be implemented
. And instead of clearly calling for support for Denis Fégné, he expects the socialist candidate to join him on his position. I now expect firm and clear commitments from Mr. Fégné on several issues that are at the heart of our local concerns: maintaining our local hospitals and a new state-of-the-art hospital; defending our jobs, our public services and mobility in our rural areas; sustainable water management; defending our pastoralism; financing the Lourdes Future Plan; bringing our spa and ski resorts closer together in the face of competition; ensuring the sustainability of our airport and our trains
@bigorre_org
