Claire Desmares-Poirrier is the head of the Brittany of the future list and environmental candidate in the regional elections. – C. Allain / 20 Minutes
- In Brittany, two ecological lists will be present in the first round of regional elections on June 20 and 27.
- Claire Desmares-Poirrier and Daniel Cueff hope to nibble votes in the region’s important environmental pool.
- The theme of agriculture will be central in this region where agribusiness weighs considerable weight.
They have long been mistreated by Jean-Yves Le Drian. Always dismissed, sometimes even despised, environmentalists have seen one of their historic opponents withdraw from the race for regional elections in Brittany. If he observes the political debate attentively from his offices on the Quai d’Orsay, the Minister of Foreign Affairs will not be a candidate for the regional election scheduled for June 20 and 27. As the climate emergency becomes clearer every day, as the intensive agricultural model is constantly challenged and green algae line the beaches, can environmentalists take over the region? Not sure, especially since they advance divided. State of play.
She is not very well known in the region but advances her pawns. Behind her thin round glasses, Claire Desmares-Poirrier does not hide her sharp gaze on regional policy. Based in Six-sur-Aff, south of Rennes, the head of the Brittany of the future environmentalist list could well be presiding over the region. Not for the glory, but for the action. “Our goal is clear. We want to hand the region over to the Greens. »Ambitious, the young woman left the city to settle in the countryside and to engage in the cultivation of medicinal plants. Quite a symbol in a region dominated by the powers of agribusiness. “Agriculture will be at the center of the countryside, that’s for sure. If Brittany were autonomous, it would be among the lowest ecologically rated in the world. But our model is on her knees. Without the millions of subsidies, it does not hold up any more ”. However, there is no question of despising the peasant world. “We have to get out of postures, reopen the space for debate,” explains the 36-year-old candidate.
A ballot that promises to be very open
Joined by the Breton Democratic Union and Nouvelle Donne, its list will however have to face a heavy opponent. Former mayor of Langouët, Daniel Cueff presents himself as a credible candidate, carried by the media enthusiasm around his fight against pesticides. “He is undoubtedly the most famous personality, with Loïg Chesnais-Girard [président socialiste sortant] », Romain Pasquier analyzes. The political scientist recalls that the “best” environmental candidate had been Guy Hascoët, in 2010, who had taken advantage of his fame as former Secretary of State to obtain more than 12% in the first round. ” But things have changed. Several little-known environmental mayors were elected. “
A somewhat biased survey, which was also pinned down by the national commission, confirmed this trend. Daniel Cueff is well known to the Bretons. But will his speech pass in a region where “conventional” agriculture is the majority? “Environmentalists must carry a message of rupture without falling into radicalism. We have seen that some examples like the Christmas tree of the mayor of Bordeaux hurt. There is also a green-bashing ”, recalls Romain Pasquier. “Our program, we want to build it with the inhabitants around ecology and solidarity. We do not want to govern with our cabinets as Le Drian did ”, continues the candidate appointed by EELV.
In a very open ballot, the political scientist Romain Pasquier expects to see the list of Claire Desmares-Poirrier “between 10 and 15%” but struggles to predict the score of Daniel Cueff. “The green vote is often successful in cities, but it is there that we vote the least. What will make the difference is the game of alliances ”. One could make a pact with Loïg Chesnais-Girard (PS) when the other would be closer to Thierry Burlot (LREM). The price to pay to govern?