A month. This is the time left before the first round of municipal elections. In Paris as elsewhere, voters are not yet completely in the driver's seat. Especially since the closing of the lists should only take place within a week. But the earthquake which has just shaken the race at the Paris City Hall, after the spectacular withdrawal of Benjamin Griveaux, presidential candidate, has gripped everyone.
In the East as in the West of the capital, one gets annoyed by the upheavals of a political class which seems disconnected from reality. And we wonder about the consequences of this incredible twist.
At the Aligre market (12th century): “Villani is an intelligent guy. But LREM will not call him back ”
"Delusional", "absurd", "lamentable", "catastrophic". On the markets this Saturday morning, Parisians are not short of adjectives to describe the “Griveaux affair”. In the aftermath of the spectacular withdrawal of the candidate LREM in the race for mayor of Paris, following the dissemination of an intimate video of a sexual nature, all those met condemn, in unison with the political class, the non-respect of the privacy of the former government spokesperson.
At the height of her 76 years, Jeanine, loyal to the Aligre market (12th), says she is "amazed". "See where the amateurism claimed by the President of the Republic leads us on Monday (Editor's note: February 10) before the deputies! Is offended by the septuagenarian who, she says, will vote for Rachida Dati (LR) on March 15.
CNRS researcher, Olivier, 41, lives in the neighborhood. He considers this affair "revealing of the fall in the level of political life". Elector of Anne Hidalgo, whose praise he praises, he wonders: "When you reach such a level of responsibility in political life, you must be well aware that this type of behavior may one day turn against you ! "In the little game of predictions, he who declares himself" not a fan of Mounir Mahjoubi ", launches:" Villani is an intelligent, hyper-competent guy. But it would surprise me if LREM called him back! "
At the Marché des Enfants Rouges (III): "It's such a mess that it becomes funny!"
In the Marais, in the heart of the very bohemian 3rd arrondissement, where Emmanuel Macron recorded his best Parisian score (45.04%) in the first round of the presidential election, Sophie, a 40-year-old executive, crossed on the Red Children market, did not hide his dismay: "I was not too much in the countryside. The idea of moving the Gare de l'Est proposed by Benjamin Griveaux seemed odd to me. But I was going to vote LREM. Today, I am so disappointed that, suddenly, I will not vote. Dubitative, she continues: "Parisians say they are fed up with Hidalgo. And yet, it leads the polls. But who is there opposite? "
Florist with the Red Children, Olivier Faraoni, who cultivates a Michel Polnareff look, is adamant: “This case will benefit the mayor of Paris who will be re-elected thanks to the division of his opponents. "And to let go, with a flowery vocabulary:" It's such a mess at La République en Marche that it becomes comical! "
Rue Poncelet (XVIIth): "Suddenly, I may vote right"
“Griveaux, he had come here a month ago, he had visited all the traders. It could have been a big vote for him here… ”At Café Ponce, rue Poncelet (17th century), we are already talking about the past of the one who imagined spawning an electoral future here. The zinc commemorates the ephemeral top of the list of the XVIIth, whose memory throne in One of the Parisian, deposited on the counter this Saturday morning. Indeed, this district, traditionally acquired on the right, seemed since 2017 to have become an increasingly cozy nest for the macronist vote - 39.89% in Europeans, and often more than 50% in the west of the 17th century.
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In recent weeks, the little hands of the candidate's campaign LREM, leaflets in hand, had been posted several times at the entrances to this shopping street, where caterers, delicatessens and fruit and vegetable stalls play elbow-to-neck -elbow. But not this Saturday morning when activists are towing for Geoffroy Boulard (the outgoing LR mayor), Villani and even Marcel Campion.
Eric, the little thirty-something pepper and salt, navy blue puffer jacket, should have voted Griveaux. People said "good" to him. But he wants a newsletter that allows him to "make Hidalgo lose". "Today LREM can no longer win, so I may be voting right on the first round ..." outlines the young father, before spinning, his stroller in hand. The other Macronist voters met here seem to be rather straight in their vote.
So Ninette, 60, on a bicycle: "I will vote En Marche whatever happens, it corresponds to what I want for the city of Paris", she slips. She walks away, then comes back: “Maybe what happened can have an opposite effect, and strengthen LREM. I am positive! "More indecisive, but in the same tone, Philippe does not let go of the presidential party:" LREM remains an option for me. They will choose another candidate, but it is the program that counts. "
Rue Bayen (17th century): "Agnès Buzyn could represent Paris!"
Many of the voters met in this borough where he was a candidate will have harsh words about Griveaux, which they considered arrogant. But those determined to remain loyal to the presidential party do not seem disarmed by the abandonment of the former government spokesman. Sometimes it is even the opposite. "He had missed his campaign from the start, I wonder if it could not be beneficial to En Marche! “Wonders Guillaume, 46 years old.
But who to replace it with? This father takes his children to the same school as Stanislas Guerini, general delegate of the presidential party. He finds him "nice and discreet" and would see him resume the campaign. "Agnes Buzyn, that would please me. She could represent Paris! "Slips from his side Arnaud, who too, will not abandon his LREM bulletin in March. "But let them support Villani!" What are they going to look for someone else? He is 100% macronist! Annoys himself a little further Martin. "We hope that this sequence will allow us to emerge more," slides Assia Meddah, head of the list in the XVIIth for Villani, even if his camp refuses to raise the subject "Griveaux" during his negotiations: "We are rolling out. "
Boulevard Lefebvre (15th): "I would have preferred him to stay"
On the market on boulevard Lefebvre, in the south of the 15th century, shoulders shrug, a bit annoyed, at the mention of "the affair". "I would have preferred him to stay," says Olivier, a 53-year-old company director, who deplores a political blow. “The video, I myself received it yesterday (Editor's note: Friday) on my computer, through an acquaintance in politics… and in the same camp as Griveaux! Notes the head of the company, who claims to be an "absolute fan" of Emmanuel Macron. “But for municipal elections, I will no doubt base my choice on more local criteria. I still regret the withdrawal of Griveaux. It will necessarily benefit Anne Hidalgo, "he breathes.
A few hundred meters further, at the exit of the Georges-Brassens park, Pablo, 22, who finishes his morning jog admits his disinterest in the affair and its consequences. "I voted only once in my life, in the last presidential elections, and just to block Le Pen", explains the young man who will not vote in the municipal elections and expresses only one regret: not having succeeded in download the famous video on your computer!
Place Vauban (VIIe): "He could not continue to be a candidate, a question of ethics"
In the very chic 7th district - stronghold of Rachida Dati -, the judgments are sharper. "He obviously could not continue to be a candidate to represent the Parisians. Above all for a moral issue, ”asserts Marie-Agnès, elegant septuagenarian who walks her dog on Place Vauban, behind the Invalides.
"No, but what are these politicians who stage themselves in pornographic videos!" She annoys herself again. "Above all, you shouldn't set yourself up as a judge," replied Michèle, 81, as if echoing. "It is disappointing, even incomprehensible, that a politician of this level commits such imprudence. But it is especially unfortunate that it leads him to withdraw his candidacy, "laments the octogenarian, rather centrist, but who intended to vote Griveaux in March. "I'm going to vote En Marche!" still. Whoever his replacement is, ”she says.
She will not be able to count on Alexandre Missoffe, head of the LREM list in the 7th district, or on the dozen running mongers and activists present at the entrance to the market to inform her about Griveaux's successor "We will know our leader in 48 hours at the latest (Editor's note: February 17) . But from here, we continue to campaign on our project, with more motivation than ever, "says with a forced smile the macronist candidate who had reprinted urgently, this Friday evening, 1000 leaflets where the name of Griveaux has disappeared . "The best would not be to bring Villani back?" Asked a passerby. "The best thing would be for us to meet," replied the candidate soberly.
In a nearby brasserie, two friends talk about the case in a funny tone. "But what a ... this Griveaux!" We know that with social networks, now everything can leak, ”notes the first. "If he announced his withdrawal so quickly, it is probably because there is knowledge that other videos could come out," scaffolds the second.
Parc Monceau (8th): "What happens to Griveaux is an immature prepubescent teen thing"
A short distance away, a continuous round of strollers and joggers raises the dust in Parc Monceau (8th). "What happens to Griveaux is an immature prepubescent teen thing, but that will not change my choice, I will vote for his replacement whoever it is," said Aurore, in her thirties, on a walk with her young dog " Princess Leia ".
Benjamin Griveaux will not have breathed new life into his campaign. Small consolation, a good part of the Macronist voters who supported him again this week seem ready, despite everything, to follow his future successor. Even if few people still seem to believe in a possible victory for the Walkers.