Legislative: in Hérault, Patrick Vignal withdraws… “It's not a wave, it's an anti-Macron surge”

Patrick Vignal has been a deputy for the 9th constituency of Hérault since 2012. Midi Libre – SYLVIE CAMBON

Came 3rd with 25% of the votes behind the LR-RN Charles Alloncle (36.43%) and the rebellious Nadia Belaouni (29.27%) in the 9th constituency of Hérault, the media Macronist throws in the towel. Without too much bitterness.

You were already on unfavorable waivers in 2022. It was not possible, this time, to reverse the trend?

I have received numerous calls since Sunday evening, including from the President of the Republic, asking me not to abdicate, messages telling me that victory was possible. But you have to be lucid. I got back on the tatami (he is a judoka, Editor's note), knowing that there were two blocks sacred since the European elections: the RN and its allies ;rsquo;one side; the left front of the other. But they (the New Popular Front, Editor's note) managed to come together, which we were unable to do. I'm 2 500 votes behind, the match is over. It’s not a wave, it’s a surge. It’s the game of democracy.

So it was not so much Patrick Vignal as Emmanuel Macron who lost?

To reassure my ego, I can see that I did more than some of my colleagues, but it wasn't enough this time. But yes, clearly, there is a strong Macron disapproval. That’s how it is.

You blame him?

I can say that I owe him my defeat, but I do not forget that I especially owe him my victory in 2017. I remain convinced that what people want is that you love them, that they realize that there is this flesh. They don’t care about the economy, Excel tables don’t interest them. He had that seven years ago and it’s also what made it possible to create hope, it’s what made me one of the first to join him. But since then, we must admit that he has taken some hits. And he ended up isolating himself.

You have regrets?

I have often been criticized, within Macronie, for being rebellious. I am a man of the left and I tried to move the lines within my party, to shake up the President during the debates on pensions, during the episode of the "yellow vests&quot ;. Today, I regret not having gone further. This is the mea culpa that I want to make.

Is these legislative elections the end of Macronie?

I think Renaissance is dead. Macronie too. He won alone in 2017, I regret today that he lost alone. We must now find women and men of good will who are not just hungry for power and who want to share it.

Isn’t that utopian?

The problem, for several years, is that politicians have been harboring anger. And when we send this anger back to citizens, all that comes out is extremes, chaos…hellip; We must therefore get out of this hole and this can only happen through a central block, around peaceful people, I am thinking of Bernard Cazeneuve, Carole Delga, Michaël Delafosse, Raphaël Glucksmann, François Ruffin, Raquel Garrido… I would have liked to participate in this reconstruction.

But that’s not what’s happening on Sunday…

For my part, I call not to give a single vote to the RN. I tell people: “Don't give power to people who think that immigrants have nothing to do in France, to a party that wants to put Marion Maréchal out of office. rsquo;National Education". I don't think that Jordan Bardella will have an absolute majority and will go to Matignon. On the other hand, Jean-Luc Mélenchon will want to be Prime Minister, but I call on my green, socialist and communist friends not to get involved in this game. A political recomposition will therefore have to take place after July 8 and I hope that we can move towards a coalition government, with men and women of different sensibilities who are not preparing for 2027. I told Emmanuel Macron that ;he must now hand over the keys to the truck and stop trying to pull the strings. We're up against the wall.

But who, then, to drive the truck?

I trust political backpackers, Carole Delga once again, François Hollande, Valérie Rabault…

You return to your first family?

I may be idealistic, but above all I would like to see humanity put back into this society. This is what I tried to do during my mandates. And for that, I will always be available.

In the meantime, you are sending a message to your voters in the run-up to the second round…

I have always been clear on the subject and I remain so. My mentor was called Georges Frêche and he always fought the National Front. I owe him that, because I owe him everything.

Is this then a call to vote for your rebellious rival Nadia Belaouni ?

I won't hide from you that things would have been simpler if I had had a socialist or environmentalist candidate in front of me, like Laurence Cristol (in the 3rd constituency) or Patricia Mirallès (in the 1st constituency). I am very embarrassed with some of the Insoumis and I do not want either Jordan Bardella or Jean-Luc Mélenchon as Prime Minister. But I'm not the only one. Since yesterday (Sunday), many have told me that they will not vote. On the contrary, I tell them that we must go and vote. If possible not for the RN. And I sincerely hope that this political recomposition will be able to begin the day after July 8.

You have been a deputy since 2012, elected for more than twenty years. Today you no longer have a mandate, a page is turning?

I was elected in one wave, I lost in another, so it's normal that I put down the suit and tie. I will be able to devote myself to my business, to apartments that I have had to renovate for three years.

And if Mr. Macron dissolves again in June 2025 ?

I think I'll go back. I like it. And like in judo after a defeat, I will try to be better.

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