Invested by the New Popular Front, what are the chances for the communist Léon Deffontaines, foal of Fabien Roussel, of being elected in the 2024 legislative elections?
Will Léon Deffontaines be elected in the legislative elections? The head of the list of the French Communist Party (PCF) in the last European elections is back on the scene. Foal of Fabien Roussel, Léon Deffontaines is nominated for this legislative election by the New Popular Front, a left-wing alliance created to block the National Rally, in the 3rd constituency of the Somme.
As a reminder on a national scale, during the European elections, the PCF list he led won 2.5% of the votes cast, which does not allow the French Communist Party to send the slightest deputy to the European Parliament, nor -even reimburse campaign costs. To top it off, in the 3rd constituency of the Somme, the National Rally (RN) came clearly in the lead with 46% of the votes, followed by Renaissance (12%), then the Rural Alliance at 8.72%. And it is precisely in this constituency that the native Amiens is running for the early legislative elections scheduled after the dissolution of the National Assembly by Emmanuel Macron. They will take place on June 30 and July 7.
The very powerful right in this Somme constituency
Léon Deffontaines was invested by the New Popular Front (NFP) alliance. And the task risks being difficult for the spokesperson for the PCF in a constituency which gives pride of place to the extreme right. “On paper, this constituency would be won by the National Rally, but that is without counting on the momentum that we are launching. The campaign will be short, and very difficult. But when I see you all gathered here, I know that it is possible” he declared from Woincourt on June 17, during the launch of his campaign.
In the 3rd constituency of the Somme, it is clear that the right reigns supreme. In 2022, during the last legislative elections, the first round saw the National Rally leading the way thanks to Nicolas Lottin (30%), ahead of the Republicans (26%) and LREM (17%). The PCF candidate, Arnaud Petit, only came in fourth position (16% of the vote). In the second round, the right won this constituency thanks to Republican Emmanuel Maquet (53%) ahead of the RN (46%).
Does Léon Deffontaines have any chance of being elected to the 2024 Legislative Elections?
Note that for these 2024 legislative elections, Léon Deffontaines will face him in the 3rd constituency of the Somme the outgoing deputy Emmanuel Maquet (LR), but also Matthias Renault under the RN banner. Which should leave little room for maneuver for Fabien Roussel’s protégé to express himself, despite the new striking force constituted by the alliance of the left, established to try to block the Front National and impose a left-wing Prime Minister on Matignon. As for the national level polls, the fight rages between the two main forces in the country. The National Rally remains above the 30% voting intention mark in the latest poll published by Ifop for LCI. It even reached the symbolic bar of a third of voting intentions and distanced the left coalition (28 %), which is given in second position, an alliance which includes the PCF and Léon Deffontaines.