François Hollande, candidate of the New Popular Front in the legislative elections, hopes to emerge victorious from the three-way race that pits him against the right and the far right. The results of the second round could be close.
Latest updates
15:12 – François Hollande voted in Tulle and did not forget his ID this time!
François Hollande, candidate in the 1st constituency of Corrèze, voted late in the morning in his polling station in Tulle. Under the eye of the cameras and accompanied by his partner Julie Gayet, the former President of the Republic presented his identity document, he who had forgotten his passport during the first round, a comical scene filmed by the teams of the Quotidien program.
15:01 – François Hollande’s constituency has shifted to the right
The 1st constituency of Corrèze is historically a stronghold of the left: from 1958 to 2017, socialist and communist deputies took turns there, with the exception of two RPR brackets, in 1978 and then in 1993. After his departure from the National Assembly, François Hollande was succeeded by the socialist Sophie Dessus and then by her substitute Alain Ballay. But in 2017, the constituency swung into Emmanuel Macron’s presidential majority: Christophe Jerretie, a member of LREM and then of MoDem, regained the seat. In 2022, François Hollande’s stronghold swung even further to the right, by electing LR Francis Dubois as deputy. He is also running for re-election this year against François Hollande.
14:21 – A return of François Hollande to the Assembly after 12 years of absence?
François Hollande knows the 1st constituency of Corrèze well, having already been elected as a deputy there four times. Running again in his stronghold, the former head of state could regain a seat in the Assembly, 12 years after leaving its benches. François Hollande’s first election in this constituency dates back to 1988. He was then re-elected in 1997 and did not leave the chamber again until 2012, the year he arrived at the Elysée.
François Hollande hopes to return to the National Assembly and be elected as a member of parliament. 1st constituency of Corrèze at the end of the legislative elections this Sunday, July 7. The former President of the Republic, who came out on top in the first round, approaches the vote with “confidence” but “concern”. Although he is the favorite in the three-way race being played out in his stronghold, victory is not yet assured against the candidate of the National Rally and the candidate of the historic Republican channel, who is also the outgoing MP.
The socialist candidate invested by the New Popular Front for these legislative elections regretted the maintenance of the candidate of the right who came in third place in the first round, despite the call to form a republican front to block the National Rally. “The reflex is that of the Republic, to consider that even if we do not share all the ideas of the candidate who came in first, we will give him support to avoid the extreme right. This was not done here, I deplore it”, indicated François Hollande to BFMTV after the first round, but his opponent Francis Dubois assumes his non-withdrawal and believes that “we must beat François Hollande, this candidate of the far-left New Popular Front”.
What result for François Hollande in the legislative elections?
François Hollande obtained 37.63% of the votes in the first round of the legislative elections in the 1st constituency of Corrèze and came out on top. But two other candidates managed to qualify for the second round: the candidate of the National Rally Maïtey Pouget with 30.89% of the votes and the outgoing deputy from the Republicans Francis Dubois with a score of 28.64%.
The battle could therefore once again be tight between the three candidates, even if François Hollande could take advantage of the three-way race that most often benefits the candidates who emerged victorious in the first round. In the absence of withdrawals, all electorates are likely to remain faithful to their vote, but the shift of the right-wing electorate to the far right, or vice versa, is not impossible. The National Rally candidate is counting on this possibility, as she said to Franceinfo : “The only possible strategy is to convince Mr. Dubois’ voters to join us.”
François Hollande calls on voters to form a republican front themselves by voting for him, who appears to be the candidate best placed to beat the RN. According to him, the “main danger […] for the whole country” during these legislative elections is the arrival in power of the extreme right.
François Hollande supported by majority voters?
François Hollande did not find an opponent from the presidential majority in his constituency. Emmanuel Macron’s camp, which decided not to invest candidates in the 577 constituencies, gave up the 1st of Corrèze out of respect for the former President of the Republic according to Gabriel Attal. But the choice was mainly motivated by the chances of victory deemed low for the majority in this territory. Instead, the majority preferred to give its support to a candidate, but it is not François Hollande who receives the support of the party in power, it is the outgoing LR deputy Francis Dubois. “The former President is a candidate in the alliance of La France insoumise, and it is not this alliance that we want to see win for the country” justified the Prime Minister at the time.
Macronist voters have clearly followed the majority’s decision by supporting the LR candidate in the first round. They should repeat this choice for the next election, unless the majority calls again to support the candidate best placed to win against the National Rally, which, in the 1st constituency of Corrèze, is François Hollande. Gabriel Attal called on the majority candidates who came third to withdraw in order to prevent RN victories. He could logically call on voters to deport their votes when no majority candidate is in the running. The fact remains that Macronist voters are more compatible with the right than with the New Popular Front program.