Legislative elections 2024. Montpellier remains a citadel of the left with an elected official from the New Popular Front elected in the first round

Michaël Delafosse aux côtés de son adjointe Fanny Dombre-Coste ce dimanche soir à l'Hôtel de ville. Midi Libre – JEAN-MICHEL MART

The configuration at the end of this first round will not be the same without the vote of Montpellier residents who have largely placed their confidence in the candidates of the Union of the Left.

While the RN continues its breakthrough in Hérault, Montpellier is putting up resistance. Its voters continue to clearly block the extreme right. Unsurprisingly, outgoing MP Nathalie Oziol (NFP) was re-elected in 2nd place in the first round. The only 100% Montpellier constituency, this stronghold of the left granted 58.22% of the votes cast to the candidate close to Jean-Luc Mélenchon. A blank check two years after his election in the second round with 63.33% of the votes. "It's the success of the gathering of the left, rejoiced Michaël Delafosse. The left which did its duty and united."

The losing deputies of the presidential majority as arbitrators

Montpellier voters also tip the scales to the left in constituencies spanning several municipalities. This is obvious in the 1st and 3rd constituencies, represented respectively by Jean-Louis Roumégas and Fanny Dombre-Coste. Overtaken in the first part of the evening as the first results were published around Montpellier, both made a spectacular comeback as the Montpellier polls were counted. The deputy mayor of Montpellier beat Lauriane Troise (RN) to the post with 33.90% of the vote compared to 32.28% for the second. The outgoing Laurence Cristol is the one who is doing best among the deputies from the presidential majority in Hérault. She obtained 29.10% of the votes. A score that places her as an arbiter for the second round, a very small comfort for the elected official who was fully invested in the bill on the end of life before the dissolution tolled on June 9.

40 votes difference between Roumégas and Oliva on the 1st

The ecologist Jean-Louis Roumégas almost accomplished the same feat as his socialist comrade but he missed the first place by a hair by forty votes… He collects 34.04 % of the votes against 34.11% for Josyan Oliva (RN-Ciotti) in the first constituency. A territory which includes the towns of Palavas, Villeneuve-lès-Maguelone, Lattes and Pérols which ostensibly display their anchorage on the far right. 

The arrival of Jean-Luc Mélenchon, in support of Sylvain Carrière in the 8th constituency a week before the first round, was not enough. If the candidate of the Union of the Left is filling up in the neighborhoods and municipalities of the metropolis of Montpellier (32.71%), it is insufficient for ;nbsp;outstripping Cédric Lapierre (RN) who comes in first position with 40.12%. This results in a duel in which the transfer of votes will serve as arbitration.

Patrick Vignal, Ensemble candidate on the 9th, like Patricia Mirallès, bears the brunt of the clearing of Emmanuel Macron. Their territorial roots and their personal work had no weight compared to their proximity to the president. "Whoever wants to fly too close to the sun burns their wings." Nevertheless, they find themselves with the keys to the vote in their hands. This evening they were unable to comment. The night brings advice, says the proverb. 

For a "Republican withdrawal"

For the mayor of Montpellier, "we cannot write Republic on our posters and not want to support candidates who will be the guarantors of republican freedoms". "Republican withdrawal" as Michaël Delafosse calls it is a duty to block the National Front. "The president who plunged us into this moment, which will perhaps tragically mark the history of France, must assume his responsibility. Let us not be tempted to look at so-and-so. Citizens need clarity." Beyond national instructions, it is impossible to forget that Patrick Vignal (deputy in Montpellier between 2001 and 2008) and Patricia Miralles both campaigned for the Socialist Party before their detour to Macronie. "These are elected officials from Montpellier with whom we shared routes, recalls ecologist Manu Reynaud. We must find a common position." An opinion shared this Sunday evening by all the components of the union of the left . 

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