Phew of relief to the Socialist Party.
According to initial estimates, the outgoing PS president, Marie-Guite Dufay, would easily win in the second round of the regional in Burgundy-Franche-Comté with 43% of the vote.
The region would therefore not fall into the hands of the National Rally: their head of the list, Julien Odoul, would even finish third with 21% of the vote - less than in the first round -, and would be preceded by the LR candidate, Gilles Platret (26 %).
During the campaign, Marine Le Pen nevertheless considered the region "
winnable
".
The macronist, Denis Thuriot, would finish fourth (9%).
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Socialist Marie-Guite Dufay had already taken the lead in the first round (26.52%), which was a surprise even within her own camp. During the in-between-rounds week, the outgoing president merged her lists with those of environmentalists, who came fifth (10.34%) last Sunday.
The PS and EELV then demanded the removal from the LREM list, considering the RN danger to be significant.
"When the essential is at stake, then we withdraw!"
, had hammered Tuesday the boss of the PS, Olivier Faure, on BFMTV.
"This is courage in politics,"
he added. On the side of La République en Marche, the general staff considered that the RN risk was not high enough to operate a withdrawal from the presidential movement's lists. The sequel proved them right.
Second in the first round (23.19%), the head of the list RN Julien Odoul had meanwhile deplored the massive abstention in his region (65.1%), as everywhere in France.
"Where are you tonight to win our ideas, to give victory? It is possible if you move around, ”
he said last Sunday. His appeal was not heard.