It is a symbol that falls: the department of Val-de-Marne, which had been chaired by a communist since 1976, and from 1967 to 1970, i.e. for nearly half a century, fell into the hands of the right. The right-wing list “Together we wake up the Val-de-Marne”, led by Olivier Capitanio, won in front of the left alliance led by the Communist and outgoing president Christian Favier.
To understand the loss of this last French department held by the PCF, 20 minutes contacted historian Roger Martelli, author of numerous articles and works devoted to communism. He just wrote an analysis of this upheaval, passing not far from 110 cantons with a fine comb.
A “foreseeable” loss
When the department was created on January 1, 1968, half of the population lived in municipalities managed by communist mayors. It is the northern half, the one that is glued to Seine-Saint-Denis, all corresponding to what has been called the “red suburb”. Then this hegemony will slowly crack. In 1977, at its peak, the PC was at the head of 17 town halls in Val-de-Marne. In 2008, they were already only 12 mayors, for a third of the population. In 2020, there are only seven mayors, for 23% of the population, explains Roger Martelli, also a former member of the PCF. “It’s a gradual reduction. Today’s defeat is not a thunderclap in a clear sky, it is a long-lasting process. “
The loss of the department was therefore, for Roger Martelli, “foreseeable”: “If he had remained a Communist, it would have been miraculous. It is part of a story: when the PCF settles in the suburbs, the industry is booming, the number of workers increases.
Lack of adaptation
Since then, the world has been changed, “the social framework in which the PC is inserted has been upset”, continues the historian, co-editor of the magazine. Looks. The number of workers has since dropped drastically, the wage system has become uberized, the figure of the “worker” and the “worker” has profoundly changed. And “the PC did not take the measure early enough of these changes,” said Roger Martelli. Not to mention the competition from neighbors on the left.
The symbolism is all the same less strong than in Seine-Saint-Denis, lost in 2008. “This department has long been a territory of undisputed hegemony. […] It was never the same in Val-de-Marne ”, written Roger Martelli. In Seine-Saint-Denis, now headed by Stéphane Troussel (PS), nearly 80% of the population was formerly under the aegis of a communist town hall. And there was a time when all the deputies of “93” were Communists.
The results of departmental and regional elections in Ile-de-France can be found on 20minutes.fr.