Regional 2021: what scores for the “citizen” and “corona-skeptic” lists?

In at least five regions, lists were led by candidates from the “

corona-skeptic

” movement.

Supported by the Citizen Federation, a protest collective, born from the criticism of the government's management of the health crisis, the movement “Un Nôtre Monde” presented three lists which did not collect more than 1% of the votes.

To discover

• Regional elections 2021: discover all the results

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In Brittany, the list led by Christophe Daviet won 0.49% of the votes cast. In Pays de la Loire, Linda Rigaudeau's list totals 0.6% of the votes, and in the Paca region, only 0.25% for Mikaël Vincenzi. The three candidates had brought together teams with diverse profiles but above all new to politics. “

Our list is made up of a plurality of people who do not necessarily identify with anti-vaccine or anti-mask comments

,” Linda Rigaudeau told

Ouest France

. The initial impetus for these lists was nevertheless given by Louis Fouché, doctor and founder of the anti-health restrictions site Réinfocovid.fr. Another instigator, Hayssam Hoballah, figure of “

corona-skeptical

” movements

“, According to Rudy Reichstadt, founder of Conspiracy Watch interviewed by Franceinfo.

Defending among other things participatory democracy, ecological transition or transparency, the “Un Nôtre Monde” lists, stamped “

various

” by the Ministry of the Interior, focused their proposals essentially on the establishment of “

shared

governance

” .

For direct democracy

Another movement, dubbed Essential Union, presented two “

citizen

”

lists

. Led in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes by Shella Gill, personally against the curfew and confinement, the list proposed more direct democracy, transparency, and “

the strictest respect for living things

”. It convinced only 0.68% of voters. In Occitania, the list led by Anthony Le Boursicaud totaled only 0.41% of the votes cast.

If these lists from corona-skeptic movements have collected tiny scores, "

it is first of all because of a largely overestimated sociology

", according to Benjamin Morel, lecturer at the University of Pantheon-Assas.

"

There is the prism of social networks which shelters an overinvestment of rather unrepresentative radical militant groups

", continues the researcher estimating that there is "

a real distortion between the real political debate and the virtual political debate

".

Abstention, a determining factor

The historical abstention rate, which reached 66.7%, is also a determining factor, "

the categories of the population permeable to the theses" corona-skeptics "having moved very little

", estimates the political scientist.

"

We are talking about the same sociological basis as the" yellow vests ", even if the people are different

".

The “yellow vests” lists had indeed garnered very few votes in the 2019 European elections, failing to translate the street protest into the ballot box.

Read also:

Regional 2021: young people, retirees, graduates ... Abstention has increased in all categories of the population

The weakness of the campaigns of the “Un Nôtre Monde” and “Essential Union” lists and their very limited media coverage did not work in their favor either.

The French "

are not invested all the time in politics to the point of knowing all the lists

", recalls the political scientist.

Despite very low scores, the candidate "Un Nôtre Monde" in the Pays de la Loire, Linda Rigeaudau, said she was "

very proud of the 6,000 people who voted"

for her list, stressing however a defeat partly due to the budget from his list which

"only allowed 100,000 ballots to be printed."