A candidate for the first time in the legislative elections, Aurélien Rousseau came out on top in Yvelines. But his election is far from assured.
First round successful for Aurélien Rousseau, but the hardest part is yet to come. The former Minister of Health, who slammed the door of the government to join the left and its alliance of the New Popular Front, was placed in the lead in the first round of the legislative elections by the voters of the 7th constituency of Yvelines. The former chief of staff of Elisabeth Borne when she was Prime Minister accumulated 35.45% of the votes, ahead of his Macronist opponent Nadia Hai (28.67%) and Babette de Rozières, representing the LR-RN alliance (25.97%). The three having accumulated a number of votes greater than 12.5% of the number of registered voters, it is therefore a three-way race that is emerging on Sunday July 7.
However, for Aurélien Rousseau, a victory is far from assured. If there is a withdrawal from the far right, this should benefit the Renaissance candidate, while a three-way match promises to be very close. The only possible carryover of votes for one of the candidates is that of the 7.34% collected by Julien Fréjabue, invested by the anti-Ciottistes LR. Will these voters move towards the presidential camp or the far right? The question remains unanswered and leaves uncertainty surrounding next Sunday’s result.
A candidate without roots in his constituency
Born in Alès, Aurélien Rousseau grew up in the Gard. He does not live in the Yvelines and therefore has no direct link with the constituency in which he was nominated as a candidate by the NFP. During a trip to the field, he admitted that he “is not from here” but that does not prevent him, according to him, from being able to represent the constituency. “I am anchored thanks to all the activists who surround me and I was entitled to an activist masterclass. The issues in this constituency are national: education, housing, pollution, the feeling of being downgraded,” he justified himself as reported by Franceinfo.
As a reminder, Aurélien Rousseau had previously been a member of the PCF and then became deputy chief of staff of the socialist Bertrand Delanoë, Manuel Valls and Bernard Cazeneuve. From 2018 to 2021, he was director of the Île-de-France Regional Health Agency and led health policy in the region, particularly during the Covid-19 pandemic.