“Sun, a little, but not too much so that it won’t be unpleasant, and above all no rain! », place Yannick Jadot, from the circular stage installed on the Old Port of Marseille. Customary of open-air meetings – he has already given them in six other cities – the environmental candidate for the presidential election is participating in the renewal of these essential moments in electoral campaigns. A way of “putting politics back at the heart of the city” and “addressing a different audience”, explains his campaign team. This format is on the rise and makes it possible to break with traditional meetings.
Before him, we remember that Jean-Luc Mélenchon had experimented with this format in 2017 on this same place. More recently, in September, President Emmanuel Macron indulged in it in the garden of the Palais du Pharo for the presentation of his “Marseille en grand” plan, although a short downpour had somewhat spoiled the party (and blew up the ‘electricity). A format of which Marseille does not however have a monopoly, Éric Zemmour tried it against Mont Saint-Michel on February 18th. The opportunity to provide beautiful images, but not only.
“Outdoor meetings meet several requirements”, introduces Philippe Moreau-Chevrolet, professor of political communication at Sciences Po. The health crisis of Covid-19, already, whose exterior makes it possible to free oneself from constraints. In terms of risk taking, then. “This avoids the effect of empty seats. We are not going to be comparing the gauges between the different candidates and the media will tend to film closely, ”continues the professor. Without forgetting however that the candidates expose themselves to other risks, the vagaries of the weather in particular, but also to embarrassing failure, such as Jean-Chrisophe Cambadélis alone with his sound system on his red palette in the middle of Paris.
Financial Considerations
There are also more pragmatic motivations. Because outdoor meetings considerably lighten the financial burden of these. “For a large room, it takes a minimum of 100,000 euros and we remember that it was the meetings that had caused Nicolas Sarkozy’s campaign costs to slip in 2012”, indicates Philippe Moreau-Chevrolet. For Yannick Jadot’s this year, three technicians in a 30 m3 truck are enough to transport all the necessary equipment. The cost in terms of security is also reduced, prefecture and municipality placing police officers on the ground.
An innovative format, however, complementary to the big indoor demonstrations of force where it is a question of creating a media event. “Only the big meetings are likely to result in a live broadcast on TV”, recalls the professor. And for that, no other choice than to align the currency.