This will not be enough to comfort his supporters, too disappointed to see their favorite fail for the third time in the presidential election, and more than ever at the gates of the second round, according to almost consolidated results in the middle of the night… But Jean-Luc Mélenchon (LFI) will have had its fill of votes in Seine-Saint-Denis, a bastion of the left where it is, even more than in 2017, very clearly in the lead during this first round.
According to the final results, published shortly after 1 a.m. by the Ministry of the Interior, the leader of rebellious France obtained nearly one vote in two (49.09), very far ahead of Emmanuel Macron (20.27 %).
Crumbs for the other left-wing candidates
Once again, the extreme right will not have broken through in the very popular department of the Parisian suburbs: Marine Le Pen there painfully reaches 11.88%, while Éric Zemmour peaks at 5.15%.
Jean-Luc Mélenchon will also have left only crumbs to his competitors on the left, Yannick Jadot (3.56%), Fabien Roussel (2.14%) or Anne Hidalgo (1.08%).
Read alsoPresidential: the results in Seine-Saint-Denis
But while only a few hundred thousand votes should be missing to allow the leader of the left to reach the second round, it was anger that dominated among some elected officials, such as the deputy (PCF) from the 2nd constituency , Stéphane Peu, one of the first to speak in the evening.
“Disappointed Hope” by Stéphane Peu
“There is a lot of disappointment to see the left prevented from reaching the second round for questions of division which seem to me unforgivable, explains the parliamentarian, who campaigned for a single candidacy from the first round.
All day, I saw in the polling stations many young people, people inhabited by the hope of finishing with Macron as with the far right... And it makes me even more angry to see this hope disappointed .
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Disappointment and anger tonight.
For lack of being able to gather the left is narrowly eliminated from the 2th round despite the remarkable score of #JLMelenchon.
Unforgivable!
— Stephane Peu (@stephane1peu) April 10, 2022
In the Mélenchon camp, we nevertheless retained the pride of having brought together so many voices in a very popular territory: "It is the resounding confirmation that no left-wing force worthy of the name can anchor itself without being the force working-class neighborhoods and in particular neighborhoods, reacts the deputy LFI Éric Coquerel.
This Sunday, we witnessed a very popular vote and a mass vote, with many young people and families who had never voted before.
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"It's up to Mr. Macron to manage to convince them..."
Very much in the lead in the largest towns in the department (Saint-Denis, with 61.13%; Bobigny, 60.14%; Aubervilliers, 59.99%; Montreuil, 55.22%, etc.), Jean-Luc Mélenchon even pays for the luxury of also arriving ahead in cities administered by right-wing municipalities, such as Aulnay-sous-Bois (where it reaches 50.68%, ahead of Macron, who obtains 19.21% there), Le Blanc-Mesnil (52.88% ahead of Macron, at 16.67%), Montfermeil (41.12% ahead of Le Pen, at 20.09%), Neuilly-sur-Marne (41.29% ahead of Macron at 24.01%) , or even Noisy-le-Grand, where the gap is slightly tighter (36%, ahead of Macron, 28.81%).
Abstention reached 30.15%, about three points more than in 2017.
Read also Presidential 2022: in Seine-Saint-Denis, from Duclos to Mélenchon, the left has always won in the first round
While Valérie Pécresse only obtained 3.22% in the department, the leader of the LRs in Seine-Saint-Denis does not want to see any local consequence within his camp: “If we make comparisons between the elections local and presidential elections in the current context, we are seriously on the wrong track, warns Philippe Dallier.
You are in the poorest department of France, where the general fed up is certainly among the highest in France This is what explains the Mélenchon vote… ”
“There is real anger”
What will the voters of Mélenchon in Seine-Saint-Denis do in the second round?
In 2002 and 2017, the Republican front against Jean-Marie then Marine Le Pen had functioned at full capacity in the department, which has a large number of inhabitants of foreign origin.
Jacques Chirac and Emmanuel Macron obtained 82.56% and 78.82% respectively.
“We tell people: not a voice for Le Pen, recalls Éric Coquerel.
But the inhabitants of these neighborhoods have suffered such a policy of inequality, repression and discrimination… we are not in the same situation as five years ago.
It's up to Mr. Macron to convince them.
There is a real anger and if he does not realize it within two weeks, I think he is going to face great disappointment… ”
