Municipal: these candidates obliged to "photoshop" their campaign posters

Can you recognize the trunk man, the one who has no legs and seems to be weightless? On many campaign posters for lists in municipal elections, certain faces of the candidates were added afterwards. This gives montages that sometimes seem a little grotesque, relayed on social networks with the keyword # Detourage2020. Except that these candidates often have… no other choice.

Some do it with an ax # Clipping2020 pic.twitter.com/FKcj9KiRjx

Because these photomontages mask a purely practical reality, especially in the large villages of a few thousand inhabitants. Each list must include a number of candidates equal to that of the municipal councilors, which depends on the population. There are 27 in municipalities with 3,500 to 4,999 inhabitants, and 29 in those with 5,000 to 9,999 inhabitants, for example.

And that's where it often gets stuck, when taking the photo that will appear on large format campaign posters and on professions of faith. "It was impossible to bring together the 29 candidates at the same time because many work in the hospital or in catering, for example, and they are sometimes on shift schedules", underlines Pascal Roger, who leads the "Forges Transition" list at Forges-Les-Eaux (Seine-Maritime).

DR

This 60-year-old pensioner, former SNCF executive and president of the football club in his commune, details the impossibility in which he found himself bringing together all his running mate: two had to dry the group photo because of their work, and another candidate who was supposed to be there was prevented from doing so because of "a car accident the day before."

"The photographer added the missing heads, and he put the beach in the background"

"I have students, people on vacation ... In the end, I missed four," says Christian Loussouarn, in the running at Combrit (Finistère). In the Breton city of around 4,000 inhabitants, a professional photographer was even asked a few weeks ago to take the group photograph. “We had to take the photo outside but we fell back into the room because of the storm. Then the photographer added the missing heads, and he put the beach in the background, ”says the man who works as an urban planning assistant at Combrit.

DR

Travel included and for one hour of work, the professional was paid 90 euros. Christian Loussouarn then had to pay 4,000 euros for the printing of all of his electoral propaganda for the first round (posters, professions of faith, ballots, etc.).

Nothing contrary to the electoral code

Changing the background of the photo is another reason for touching up the posters, often for purely aesthetic reasons. In Bolbec (Seine-Maritime), Rachid Chebli swears that he would have had no trouble getting all of his running matees together. But he asked them to pose each in their corner, in profile and their arms sometimes crossed, then bring them together as he pleases on very colorful visuals. "I wanted it to snap, like a movie poster," exclaims the candidate of rebellious France.

DR

All this is authorized by the electoral code, "subject not to affect the sincerity of the ballot, that is to say not to deceive the voters", points Romain Rambaud, professor of public law at the Grenoble-Alpes University and specialist in electoral law. The only prohibitions relating to the posting are to use “uniformly white paper” or to make “a juxtaposition of the colors blue, white and red” which could “confer an official character”, one reads in the guide of the candidate published by the Ministry of the Interior.

Political Newsletter

I'm registering

Your email address is collected by Le Parisien to allow you to receive our news and commercial offers. Find out more

These photomontages are nothing new, since they were already used by many candidates in the last elections in 2014. “Photoshop has not been around since today! "Smiles Pascal Roger, at Forges-les-Bains. On the other hand, "this year, it is easier with selfies to send us identity photos".