We knew the bonus for leavers, this advantage of mayors already in place in the race for their re-election. Will we be talking about a Covid-19 bonus the day after the second round of municipal elections scheduled for June 28? Because in this unprecedented ballot, where more than three months will separate the first round from the second, the spotlight is inevitably shone on elected officials in charge, on the front line facing the epidemic. The president of the Republicans Christian Jacob is not mistaken. "What will especially count in this in-between-rounds [beyond the issue of meetings and means to campaign] is the management of each other's crisis ... Some have managed very well, others do not, ”he says.
In his camp, the mayor (LR) of Nice Christian Estrosi is a champion. After being hit by the Covid, it has multiplied: distribution of 3 million masks, arrested to make them mandatory in his city, creation of temporary cycle paths ... "He has been at the front permanently" is it boasted in his entourage. And did everything to make it known. “Doing the 8 pm in a T-shirt from his place of convalescence then a few days later, welcoming under the cameras an airplane filled with masks on the tarmac, it's a job…, breathes a bit of admiration, a local elected representative who yet do not carry it in his heart. Estrosi has a quality: he is a very good communicator ”.
An overexposure which frankly annoys its main adversary, the candidate RN Philippe Vardon, who came in second with 16.6% of the vote on March 15, (very far from the 47.6% of the ex-minister), who shouts at unfair competition . "Estrosi campaigned by advancing masked: there is an obvious breach of equality between candidates," deplores the regional councilor. We saw it everywhere on TV but ultimately it was about the same as what we do other mayors of France. We have talked a lot less about the mayor of Cannes David Lisnard (Editor's note: LR, elected in the first round) but its inhabitants have received masks well before the Nice people.
Anne Hidalgo very invested in the capital
In the capital too, Anne Hidalgo got involved very early. “It has shown for the umpteenth time that in the event of an acute crisis, it has taken the helm, praises its first assistant Emmanuel Grégoire. She was even ahead of the government. ” And to list the effort provided: distribution of 5 million masks, unlocking of 100 million euros in aid to companies, creation of 50 km of new bicycle lanes… His right arm says, however, to remain “doubtful” on any profit electoral from which the outgoing mayor could benefit.
His main opponent (LR) Rachida Dati nevertheless quickly smelled the danger, pounding the slightest misstep of Hidalgo like the distribution of unusable "paper towel" masks. Or criticizing the lack of disinfection of the streets, whose sanitary usefulness has not yet been proven. "The mayor has every interest in surfing the national shock to hide under the carpet his bad record, tackle Nelly Garnier, his campaign manager. But the period acted as a magnifying mirror: the streets are even dirtier than before while there are fewer people on the streets. And the insecurity did not stop in the north-east of Paris ”. In short, for candidate LR, who collected 22.7% of the vote, seven points less than Hidalgo, there is an urgency to "return to the real issue of the ballot: do Parisians want change for the six coming years? "
The mayor of Toulouse does not believe in the Covid effect
From his Capitol office in Toulouse where he piloted a crisis cell for almost two months, the mayor (LR) Jean-Luc Moudenc has also put the campaign on hold to manage the emergency. But the elected official, who came out on top with 36% of the votes but who would be threatened if the two competing left lists were merged, does not believe in a Covid effect. "It would be a plus if we voted this Sunday because inevitably the mayors took the light, he recognizes. But in a month, it will be a whole different story: voters will have moved on to something else, in particular to the economic and social crisis, he judges. What mayors did during the epidemic will be put into perspective. ”
According to Moudenc, a new campaign will start in June. "We will have almost a month to debate instead of the usual five days, which will restore fairness between candidates. New proposals to adapt to the crisis will emerge: it will be rich ”. Ultimately, the justice of the peace could be participation, which had been historically low on March 15.