Stolen ballot box, elected officials abused or insulted… According to information collected by 20 minutes, several incidents were recorded by the police in Paris and in the bordering departments, on the sidelines of the second round of the regional elections which took place on Sunday.
At around 4:20 p.m., in Noisy-le-Sec, in Seine-Saint-Denis, six people wearing surgical masks entered a polling station on rue Jean Renoir and began to complain about the outgoing mayor’s policy. The tone rose and one of them grabbed an urn … before running away with his accomplices. About 200 meters further, he finally dropped the urn which broke. The vote was suspended by the chairman of the office between 4:20 p.m. and 5:30 p.m., the time to collect the ballots it contained and recount them. According to a witness, the thief is a resident of the neighborhood. An investigation was opened, entrusted to the territorial security of 93.
“Dirty bobo gaucho shit”
In Levallois-Perret, in the Hauts-de-Seine, a utility vehicle belonging to the municipality was stolen in the middle of the morning. Inside were the keys to access several polling stations. A complaint will be filed by the town hall.
In Paris, around thirty people gathered at around 5 p.m. in front of a polling station in the 18th arrondissement, rue Pierre Budin. They denounced the nuisance caused by crack users in the neighborhood. A deputy mayor of the district was present. The ballot was nevertheless able to proceed normally.
In the 1st arrondissement, Passage de la Canopée, a dispute broke out around noon between an elected representative and a woman who had come to vote. The latter would have taken the wrong polling station and would have verbally attacked Raphaëlle Remy-Leleu, treating her as “dirty bitch, dirty bobo gaucho shit”. She left the scene before the arrival of the police who nevertheless have her identity to find her. The elected representative will file a complaint directly with the public prosecutor.
Brawl between Republicans and Communists
In Bondy, in Seine-Saint-Denis, an elected official explained to the police that he was hit on Sunday in front of a polling station on rue Terre Saint-Blaise. The city councilor in charge of transport and mobility in the city said he had a dispute with a man he knows, which was causing unrest in the street. According to the elected official, this person would have kicked him before leaving the premises. An investigation was opened, entrusted to the city police station.
In Ormesson, in Val-de-Marne, three people including two elected Republicans declared having been assaulted on Friday around 11:40 pm. As they were going to check the roundabout election signs at Carrefour Pince-Vent, they were allegedly beaten with iron bars by six men who were tearing up their posters. The victims had time to take the registration of one of the vehicles used by the suspects to flee. An hour later, one of them was spotted by a police patrol. The driver was taken into custody.
The next day, three Communist Party activists spontaneously reported to the police station and were also taken into police custody. They explained to investigators that the victims prevented them from putting up their posters by blocking the signs with their car. So they decided to snatch theirs in retaliation. However, they denied having abused them. The four suspects have been released, the investigation is continuing.