After Paris, it is number 2. On Sunday evening, Rennes was the large provincial town that voted the most in favor of Emmanuel Macron with 84.1% of the votes cast in the second round of the presidential election. The Breton capital and its more than 200,000 inhabitants even chased the island of Arz and its 200 souls for the regional title, which goes to the small town in the Gulf of Morbihan.
If we stick to his figures, one would think that Brittany has again offered a springboard to the outgoing president, re-elected Sunday evening for a second term with 58.5% of the vote, against 41.5% in Marine The pen. The reality is quite different. In a region traditionally hostile to the far right, the National Rally offered a breakthrough, coming first in 37 municipalities in Brittany. In 2017, only four rural villages placed Marine Le Pen in the lead.
Rennes supports Macron… but less than in 2017
In the first round, Rennes had offered a plebiscite to Jean-Luc Mélenchon, credited with 36% of the vote. Deprived of the candidate of rebellious France, the people of Rennes finally opted by an overwhelming majority for a vote in favor of Emmanuel Macron, who won 84.1% of the vote, against only 15.9% for Marine Le Pen. The observation is not valid only for the city center. Because, among the ten Breton cities which most supported the outgoing president, there are six municipalities of the metropolis. The cities of Pacé, Cesson-Sévigné, Betton, Thorigné-Fouillard or Saint-Grégoire, all ranked among the richest in the region, voted Macron by more than 80%.
But his support has dwindled significantly. In 2017, the candidate of En Marche had collected more than 88% of the votes in Rennes. “This Sunday, however, many of us voted by default, out of fear or duty, and not out of conviction. This election is not a blank check granted to Emmanuel Macron for the next five years, ”reacted the mayor of Rennes and president of the metropolis, Nathalie Appéré (PS).
In the metropolis, the candidate Marine Le Pen did not exceed 40%. However, it reaches almost 38% in Bécherel and La Chapelle-Chaussée, the last municipalities integrated into the metropolis and the furthest geographically from the city center.
Rurality leans for Le Pen
As in many territories, the vote in favor of Marine Le Pen has progressed. Rather hostile to the Frontist party, Brittany firmly opposed the National Rally camp in 2017. It did so again on Sunday by offering only 33.4% of its votes to the far-right candidate. But, everywhere, his score has progressed. An illustration: in 2017, only four villages in the region had placed it in the lead. Five years later, 37 municipalities offered him more than 50% of the votes cast, a tenfold increase.
The map of the Le Pen vote will not surprise anyone as it reflects the divide between rural and urban: the closer you get to the cities, the higher the Macron vote. In the center of Brittany, we can therefore clearly see “dark blue spots” taking shape.
Discover the results of the second round of the 2022 presidential election by city, department and region over 20 Minutes.