It is not necessarily the most scrutinized constituency in France, but it is undoubtedly one of the most symbolic of the recomposition at work in recent weeks between Macronie and the left. At stake: the capacity of social-democrat voters, once tempted by En Marche, to support a New Popular Front candidate for these early legislative elections, even one as divisive and controversial as Aymeric Caron. By beating Pierre-Yves Bournazel (32.38%), a member of Horizons, close to Edouard Philippe, in the first round, by 50.38% of the vote, the former TV man reaped the benefits of the clarity of his positioning when his opponent got lost in various references.
For both men, the challenge was the same: to convince the center-left electorate, very anchored in this constituency in the north-east of Paris which covers part of the 9th and 18th arrondissements, long supported by the Socialist Party, to bear on their name. In the European elections on June 9, Raphaël Glucksmann received 29% of the votes, double his national score. Already in 2022, the two men had clashed, Aymeric Caron under the Nupes label, Pierre-Yves Bournazel under that of “presidential majority”. The first won in the second round, with 1,200 votes in advance.
This time, the duel was more clearly decided, with nearly 10,000 votes separating the two candidates. However, both Aymeric Caron and Pierre-Yves Bournazel highlighted their ecological commitment to convince an electorate sensitive to these issues. They also positioned themselves as a bulwark against the National Rally in an area that is not very tempted by the extreme right, with Jordan Bardella’s list having gathered 7% of the votes in the European elections in the 18th arrondissement (compared to 31.3% at the national level). But the election was played out elsewhere, in the legibility of positions.
“Excuse me, but what trend is Bournazel?”
In these few streets bordered to the north by the popular Porte de Clignancourt, to the south by a 9th arrondissement in the process of advanced boboization and housing in its heart the very wealthy Butte Montmartre, Aymeric Caron, founder of the Ecological Revolution for the living, vegetarian and anti-speciesist, successfully played the “all left” card. He displayed his constant support for Gaza on his X account (formerly Twitter). To the point of being accused of anti-Semitism for having compared the anti-Semitic rape of the young girl from Courbevoie and the murder of a Roma woman in February in Haute-Savoie which no one spoke about. His defense in “I am a victim of fake news” mode was clearly enough to remove doubts among non-Melenchonist left-wing voters.
His opponent wanted to cast a wide net by playing vaguely. In 2022, he mentioned “presidential majority” in his profession of faith. Nothing like that this time. On the contrary, he tried to forget his links with Macronie. On the front of his leaflets, he posed with Bertrand Delanoë alone, his other supporters more marked on the right like Edouard Philippe (who came to support him as in 2022) or Delphine Bürkli, the mayor of the 9th arrondissement, only appeared on the back, in the company of others such as Christophe Caresche, local PS deputy until 2012. Pierre-Yves Bournazel had every interest in distancing himself from the outgoing government. Until his defeat on Sunday evening, he dreamed of running for mayor of Paris in 2026, facing Rachida Dati, who became Minister of Culture by the magic of “at the same time”. But the waltz of his allegiances has led voters astray, as evidenced by a lady’s remark to her team at the end of last week: “It’s strange to pose with someone who hasn’t been mayor of Paris for a year. eternity, Delanoë, young people don’t even know him.” Or this question asked Sunday morning in a polling station in the constituency by a gentleman brandishing a Bournazel ballot: “Excuse me, but what trend is this?”
In this constituency where the dynamiting of the right and the left provoked by Emmanuel Macron played out in full, voters had little alternative on either side. On the right, Rudolph Granier, the LR candidate, claimed his proximity to Rachida Dati, causing new unrest. On the left, in addition to testimonial candidacies, two women from the MRC, the Chevènementist movement, had decided to try their luck. But one, a candidate in a constituency of French people abroad in 2022, was sentenced to one year of ineligibility for not having filed her campaign accounts, the second was in 2017 an En Marche candidate in the neighboring constituency. Backgrounds that were not exactly likely to clarify the local landscape. The votes were therefore concentrated around the two main candidates, to the great benefit of Aymeric Caron. Who joined this Monday morning the very closed club of 32 New Popular Front deputies elected in the first round.
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