“Emmanuel Macron? For me, it’s simple: he’s the best president we’ve had since Mitterrand. Maybe even since Pompidou!”, Assures Sullivan. At 36, he was only 9 years old when the first died, and never saw the second at the Elysée. But the one who describes himself as a “sympathizer” of La République en Marche does not hesitate to summon these statesmen from a bygone world. “He has their dimension of head of state,” he continues. With his leather jacket, his white sneakers and his red beard of hipster, Sullivan does not denote in the decor of the very chic downtown Vannes. On this April day, a sweetness of May has invaded the narrow streets of its historic heart. Here, the presidential election and its campaign passed in a padded silence. The tourists who throng its cobblestone streets don’t want to hear about politics, and it’s only the frowning-eyed, smirking Sullivan who still seems to be on fire for Republic golds.
Sheltered under an umbrella, the young man sips his beer and tries not to look at the phone lens of Olga, a thirty-something Ukrainian woman he welcomed into his home a few weeks ago, after the Russian invasion of his country. “She is passionate about photography,” he explains as his friend twirls around him. He continues: “When we see everything that is happening elsewhere, we say to ourselves that we are awfully good in France. I find it difficult to understand people who complain, even if I know that there is difficulties.” This liberal nurse, former supporter of Les Républicains, voted for Emmanuel Macron in 2017, delighted with the novelty he brought. In 2022, again. “He is the one who knows the issues best and who can bring the most stability to the country,” he says.
A city “that is doing well”
This pure Breton represents Vannes moderation well. In this city of 54,000 inhabitants of southern Brittany, we voted for the outgoing president with 36.8% in the first round of the presidential election. French record for departmental prefectures. For those who know the capital of Morbihan, this support is no mystery. “We are a historically right-wing and pro-European city, explains Mayor David Robo. From 2017 to 2022, there has clearly been a transfer between the Les Républicains electorate and that of La République en Marche.” Right-wing mayor “Macron compatible”, David Robo is an example: the city councilor left Les Républicains in September 2017, before joining this year Horizons, the party of Edouard Philippe. “It’s not peripheral France, he analyzes, taking up the concept of geographer Christophe Guilluy. Vannes is a city that is doing rather well, where small and medium-sized businesses are overrepresented.” Its unemployment rate (5.5%) is lower than the national average (7.4%). It is good to live there: in 2021, the local press had exulted during the publication of the annual winners of the Figaro “cities where it is good to retire”. The city of Vénètes, as it is called in homage to the people of Celtic Gaul who lived there at the time of Vercingétorix, had come third in the ranking.
“Someone who knows the records”
Vannes remains faithful to its reputation as a “bourgeois” town, a legacy of a time when maritime trade had enriched several dynasties. The elegant houses that line the marina are witnesses of this bygone era. Today, the city is better known for its tourism than for its trade, but the Vannetais who bask in the sun during the midday break seem to have inherited the art of living from their predecessors. Gentlemen in straight trousers and linen shirts, young women in beautiful summer dresses, dashing grandmothers walking their white terrier in marinière… If the population is not uniform, BCBG elegance dominates.
“It’s a pleasant town”, summarizes Mireille*. This well-dressed retiree with impeccable white hair, who “always voted for the right”, was convinced in 2017 by Emmanuel Macron. “It’s because he’s handsome,” jokes Didier*, her husband, immediately prompting protests from Mireille. “It’s above all someone who has the answer”, she replies, before continuing: “In any case, I can assure you that it is not for our wallet: with the CSG, I I feel like my pension has shrunk!” Their purchasing power has not progressed during the last five-year term, they say, but they do not blame the president “who did what he could” despite the crises. “With the war in Ukraine, we need someone who knows the file and Putin. This is his case,” insists Mireille.
Flag effect
In Vannes, the “flag effect” is still in play: more than its internal balance sheet and the promises made for the next five years, it is the presence of Emmanuel Macron on the Ukrainian file which seems to have delighted its supporters. “I find it reassuring”, explains Marie*. This hospital caregiver has a quick lunch with Léa*, a colleague. Both voted for the head of state. “He manages the crisis well, as he managed that of the Covid very well”, they assure. The two young women swallow a bite of their salads, and play at scaring each other: “Can you imagine the situation, if Le Pen had been in his place, facing Poutine?” Marie begins. “Oh no, especially not!”, exclaims her friend.
Having already seen him at work, the Vannetais can well imagine the behavior of Emmanuel Macron internationally. They cannot say the same of Marine Le Pen, as Martine*, 43, explains. “Do you realize that France is at the presidency of the European Union? Exclaims this prison officer. What if she had been in her place?” The fear of seeing the candidate of the National Rally arrive at the Elysée even motivated some to come out of their dens, like Clara *. At 46, this saleswoman voted for the first time in 2022. “I wanted to avoid extremes, she explains. It has never seemed to me as urgent as today.” Frightened by Eric Zemmour, she is just as scared by Marine Le Pen and “her lack of experience”. “I always find Macron credible, she insists. Not the others!”
“Voting Macron was the choice of measure”, adds Annie, boyish cut and fly glasses screwed on the nose. With her husband, Philippe, the sexagenarian is waiting for friends to have lunch on the port. “He’s not perfect, but he’s a democrat,” she continues. Her husband is dusting off his blue blazer. “Even if he has not tightened the bolts enough concerning insecurity, he says. When we see the number of burglaries … I hope that he will put more legal means in the future. ” Annie, for her part, is rather convinced by her five-year term, even if she remains “disappointed” by the “many communication errors” of the executive. “It’s a shame, he did great things but ruined everything, like with his impression of arrogance.” The accusation sticks to the skin of the head of state, even with his supporters in the city. “He was odious during the debate, assures Mylène *, retired on a walk. And in addition, he held himself badly in his chair!” A few meters further, Christophe approves: “He is arrogant, even if he is competent.”
“You have to be patient”
Of course, the most fervent supporters rear up when the adjective is pronounced. “When people say that, it annoys me, protests David*. With his white top and beige pants, this 50-year-old has all the chic adventurer. “I don’t understand them, he admits, adjusting his sunglasses in his salt-and-pepper hair. I find Macron very respectful.” A convinced supporter of the president, he appreciates his speech of emancipation, he who has lived several lives: a former policeman, Boris is now a self-employed hypnotherapist. “During the Covid, whatever it costs allowed me to pay my rent. So when I hear that Macron is not social enough…” He leaves his sentence hanging, and his gaze drifts . “You know what our main problem is? It’s the next generation: it’s too assisted.” Hence, according to him, the impossible debate on pensions. “I don’t find Macron’s proposal at 65 delusional. But we refuse to see reality in the face: with the lengthening of life, we have to work more.”
“We manage alone”
For those who want to listen to it, another little music also resounds in the city. That of indifference and perplexity. Many Vannetais seem to expect nothing, or very little, from their president. “It avoids being disappointed”, slips Julie, 34 years old. Crushing out her cigarette with a heel, the young woman stretches her face one last time towards the sun, then opens the door of the real estate agency where she works, a stone’s throw from the imposing town hall. Politics ? Julie raises her eyebrows, puffs out her cheeks. Understand: it bores him. Since 2017, she has nevertheless voted Emmanuel Macron without fail, “because there is no one else”. The 30-year-old has no illusions about the ability of the re-elected president to protect his purchasing power. “He will not be able to limit the rise in prices, she sighs. I see him at the pump: the aid has not changed much.” She affirms it with all the more confidence that, in real estate, prices in Vannes have exploded since confinement. “We are one of the few medium-sized cities that is not losing population, confirms the mayor. Teleworking and the high-speed line to Paris have only reinforced our attractiveness.”
This success at a cost that deprives many natives of realizing their suburban dream. “And that too, I guess they won’t be able to do anything about it,” bet Julie, scalded by the fate of the Notre-Dame-des-Landes airport project. Approved by a local referendum in 2014, the construction had been abandoned in 2021 by the executive, after the installation of a ZAD (zone to defend) on the spot for seven years: “This affair vaccinated me from politics. It’s proof that whatever you wish for, things don’t get done. So you’re on your own.”
Politics capable of “changing lives”, to use Mitterrand’s slogan in 1974, no longer exists in his eyes. As if Emmanuel Macron was only a manager, and that the Vannetais appreciated him for that: he will not transfigure their future, but provides them with the stability necessary to leave them free to go about their business. They want the captain, if they can’t do better, to hold the helm at least enough so that the ship doesn’t take on water.
*Name has been changed.