What a strange evening. It was as if she had no more electorate than the name. First, the French voted little in the first round of the municipal elections: 53.5% to 56% abstention (according to polling institutes), against 36.45% in 2014. On the television sets, this Sunday 15 March, government ministers were not asked about the poor results of LREM, but about the management of the health crisis linked to the coronavirus. Trays they shared - unheard of for an election night - with ... doctors.
The intervention on TF 1 of Professor Philippe Juvin, head of the emergency department of the European Hospital Georges-Pompidou in Paris (15th), thus takes precedence over that of political leaders. “A very high wave (Editor's note: of contamination) will arrive, he asserts, we must devote all our energy to there being as few deaths as possible and I think that the best solution is to confine people to break the chains of contamination. I fear that we are collectively underestimating the threat. "
VIDEO. Municipal: Edouard Philippe evokes a possible postponement of the second round
An uncertain second round
Then the doctor puts his feet in the dish: "The second round, I think it should not be done". This brings water to the mill of all the opposition, unanimous Sunday evening: "We must take for granted the victories in the 1st round and postpone the second", judge Marine Le Pen, president of the National Rally. Same request from environmental manager Yannick Jadot. In unison, Bruno Retailleau, chairman of the LR group in the Senate, says: "It will be very difficult to organize the second round if the patient curve increases, and I ask that the Prime Minister receive all the party leaders tomorrow "
VIDEO. Municipal: Yannick Jadot calls for postponement of the second round
Answered! From Le Havre (Seine-Maritime) where he came out on top with 43% of the vote, Edouard Philippe announces that he will bring together "again at the beginning of the week" the scientific experts and "the representatives of the political forces" in order to take a decision on the second round. Note that a second round postponed to a distant date would mean, according to electoral law experts, a cancellation of the first, except for those who were elected from the latter.
The evening continues, both breathless and disturbing. Rumors spread on social networks evoking an immediate and total confinement, recourse to the army, a new intervention by the President of the Republic Emmanuel Macron, etc. The Elysée denies everything! But by making use of this expression which has become anxiety-provoking: "at this stage".
Reluctance at the top of the state
The government is however confronted with a problem which will have to be answered: despite the solemn interventions of the Head of State on Thursday and the Prime Minister on Saturday, the French ... went for drinks on the terrace then, on Sunday, massed in parks for sunbathing! The barrier measures against Covid-19 are not sufficiently applied at all.
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And, at the same time, the toll of the epidemic is worsening, alarming. Public Health France deplored last night 127 dead, or 36 more than Saturday, and 5,423 cases of contamination with coronavirus confirmed since January, or 923 additional cases in one day. This is the largest increase in the number of deaths and contaminations recorded in France since the appearance of the virus on the territory.
So, the intervention of Olivier Véran, the Minister of Health, on France 2, takes on the appearance of a plea: "I urge the French to respect the measures of social restriction". But will that be enough? Should freedom of movement be limited by the use of public force? If yes, when? No response Sunday evening, as if there was a hesitation at the top of the state.
Exit bonus
Minds are totally occupied by the virus, it is difficult to get excited about the results city by city. However, things happened politically on Sunday evening. An exit bonus, particularly striking in Paris, where, according to estimates, Anne Hidalgo is largely in the lead with 30.2%, ahead of Rachida Dati (LR, 22%) and Agnès Buzyn (LREM, 17.6%).
There is also a clear push by the Greens on the territory, their candidates are leading in Lyon, Strasbourg, Bordeaux, Besançon, Grenoble ... The left (united) leads in Marseille, behind the LR Martine Vassal. The RN benefits fully from the outgoing bonus: Steeve Briois, re-elected in the first round in Hénin-Beaumont (Pas-de-Calais) and David Rachline in Fréjus (Var).
The Minister of Action and Public Accounts, Gérald Darmanin, was also re-elected in the first round in Tourcoing (North). The same goes for the list of Secretary of State Sébastien Lecornu in Vernon (Eure).
VIDEO. Municipal in Paris: "We should have postponed the elections"
Find the results of the first round of municipal elections on the Parisien website.