For 7 years, François Ruffin has been a deputy for the 1st constituency of the Somme. For these early legislative elections in 2024, what are his chances of being re-elected?
François Ruffin, outgoing deputy in the first constituency of the Somme, intends to regain his seat in the National Assembly at the end of the early legislative elections. He was the first to call for the creation of the New Popular Front to block the RN. He even assured France Blue Picardy be ready to become Prime Minister: “If ever there is a consensus that leads to a name, I am ready to take the place we want to transform people’s lives.”
The one who is part of Picardy Debout! also seems tempted by the post of Minister of Sports: “If ever in the history of our country, whatever position I can occupy, if it is at Matignon as Prime Minister, why not. But if it is as Minister of Sports and that I manage to make sport available to all, to all the children of our country, I will be proud of it,” he added.
He also considered that Jean-Luc Mélenchon, also mentioned to be potentially designated Prime Minister, was “right to step back” during the legislative campaign because his name arouses “concern” among voters. According to the Elabe barometer for The echoes, published on Thursday June 13, François Ruffin is the third favorite left-wing political figure of the French after Raphaël Glucksmann and François Hollande. He garners a 24% positive image compared to 36% negative, surpassing Jean-Luc Mélenchon, with 16% positive compared to 70% negative.
What result for François Ruffin in the legislative elections?
His first objective is above all to be re-elected in his constituency, which goes from Abbeville to Amiens. “I am returning to the campaign,” he announced in a press release on June 12. He will face regional councilor Nathalie Ribeiro-Billet again on the RN side, as in 2022. The same goes for the radical party. It is the unsuccessful candidate of 2022 who is trying his luck again: Pascal Fradcourt, president of the CPME, the confederation of small and medium-sized businesses in the Somme. For Renaissance, it will be Albane Branlant, spokesperson for Youth with Macron, then on the LR side Michel Lepage, municipal councilor in Abbeville.
In 2022, François Ruffin, attached to NUPES at that time, was easily re-elected with more than 61% of the votes in the second round against the RN candidate, Nathalie Ribeiro-Billet. Marine Le Pen, however, came first in the constituency during the presidential election of the same year. This result represented an improvement compared to 2017, where the MP received 55.97% of the votes. If he can therefore be seen as a contender for victory in the next election, the political context has changed significantly in two years. The RN, in fact, came in first with 41% in Abbeville and 24.80% in Amiens during the European elections on June 9 and continues to progress.