Emmanuel Macron in the lead in the largest city in France led by the RN, and Marine Le Pen in the stronghold of Jean Castex: in Perpignan as in Prades, in the Pyrénées-Orientales, the results of the presidential election aroused surprise.
At the bend of a narrow alley in the Saint-Jacques district of Perpignan, men, laden with pancakes and soft drinks, hurry to return home to break the fast in this month of Ramadan.
“I voted Macron. Le Pen and him are day and night, especially for people like me, the North Africans,” said Karim Belkebir, a 36-year-old trader.
“In our neighborhood, there are gypsies, Arabs, we all live well together. With Emmanuel Macron, who does not advocate division”, he underlined.
The Catalan city of 120,000 inhabitants, which placed the number 3 of the National Rally (RN), Louis Aliot, at its head in the last municipal elections two years ago, granted 52.02% of the votes to Emmanuel Macron on Sunday. Not a tidal wave, but for some the symbolism is strong.
For Nicolas Lebourg, a researcher specializing in the extreme right, this vote is however not the sign of a disavowal for Louis Aliot.
According to him, the voters of Perpignan, one of the poorest cities in France in a department with record unemployment, do not necessarily draw a parallel between the management of the mayor and the program of his ex-companion, including the question of the national preference and Islam.
“Monsieur Aliot won the city on a line which was the fusion of straight lines. When he was talking about the economy, you would have thought you heard a candidate from La République en Marche, ”he says.
Prades, the city of Jean Castex chooses the RN
Some 40 km to the west, the market is in full swing in Prades, a small town of 6,000 inhabitants whose Prime Minister Jean Castex was mayor from 2008 to 2020.
The RN won in the second round with 51.33%, while Jean-Luc Mélenchon came first on April 10 with 27.12%.
“I voted for Marine Le Pen by rejection of Emmanuel Macron,” said Alain Capon, retired.
“It’s an anti-system vote carried by people who feel excluded,” laments Philippe Assens, environmental activist and local politician.