The left has lost a stronghold. But she won another. In the shadow of the regional ballot, departmental elections have sometimes struggled to exist in Brittany as elsewhere. In the region, the scenario of this election operating by canton system was however more exciting than its regional counterpart. The main lessons? The left lost Finistère but won the Côtes d’Armor. In Ille-et-Vilaine, the outgoing socialist majority will have to negotiate with EELV. As for Morbihan, it remains faithful to the right.
Only two of the four Breton departments – Morbihan and Ille-et-Vilaine – retained their outgoing majority on Sunday after the departmental elections, the right having won Finistère on the wire, while the Côtes-d’Armor turned largely to left.
End of a twenty-three year reign in Finistère
Finistère, on the left for twenty-three years, narrowly returns to the right with 28 seats against 26 on the left. The department was headed by Nathalie Sarrabezolles (PS). The abstention reached 63.24% against 64.45% in the first round.
In the Côtes-d’Armor, on the other hand, the union of the left has largely delighted the right and the center of the majority that it had lost in 2015 with 38 of the 54 seats to be filled and 19 cantons out of 27. It is in this department chaired by Romain Boutron (LR) that abstention was the least strong (59.69%). Elected since 2008, Christian Coail is a candidate for the new presidency.
Morbihan led by DVD president François Goulard, who was not running, stayed the course on Sunday, with 32 seats on the right out of the 42 to be filled. The left resisted, especially in Lorient. It is the boss of the International Cycling Union (UCI) and mayor of Sarzeau David Lappartient who should take the presidency.
Departmental in Brittany
No change either in Ille-et-Vilaine, where the left retains the majority of this department chaired by the PS since 2004, with 34 seats out of the 54 to be filled. Note the strong push from environmentalists, who won five of the six cantons of Rennes, often against the tenors of the local PS. Apart from Rennes, a large majority of the cantons have remained faithful to their choices from the previous elections. Outgoing president Jean-Luc Chenut (PS), reelected in his canton, will have to negotiate with the Greens to keep control.