At the beginning of the summer, Yannick Jadot’s camp was worried about a too stunted environmentalist primary. “To have a primary restricted to ourselves around 30,000 participants would be a failure. We must hope to double or even triple this figure to obtain a propulsive force. Three months later, aith 122,670 voters registered to participate in the designation of the ecological champion in the presidential election, the objective has been reached. While the vote of the first round is organized from Thursday to Sunday, Europe ecology-The Greens and their allies hope to ride this already “successful” ballot to launch their campaign and take the leadership on the left.
“We were able to thwart the risks of this primary”
With 122,670 registered, the ecologists pulverize their old record (of 2011, less than 33,000, whereas they were only 17,000 in 2016), but still remain far from the figures of the primary of left in 2017 (1.6 million of voters in the first round) and that of the right and the center (4.2 million) in 2016. “It confirms our momentum and shows our anchoring in society, greets Eva Sas, spokesperson for EELV and former deputy . We took the risky bet of launching the process in the heart of summer – so not in the best conditions – and while the other parties are cautious about the idea of primary … In the end, it is not a tidal wave. de-tide, but we have a great citizen participation, which will give strength to our future candidate. “
“This primary is a double satisfaction: the number of registrants and the quality of the debates, advance Julien Bayou, the boss of EELV. It was sometimes a bit of a quibble between the teams. But we were able to set a framework that includes everyone. While some promised them a rat race, the express campaign and the televised debates were finally held calmly. “We have learned the lessons of the past, wants to believe Eva Sas. It is not by grappling in front of the cameras that one can give credibility to a candidate. We were expected at the turn, and we thwarted the risk of division. It shows our maturity. “
“Our candidate will not come from small arrangements between friends”
With a successful primary, environmentalists hope to set themselves apart from their competition and take the leadership on the left. “I see that the PS did not choose an open primary. We are in the constancy of participatory democracy. Our candidate will not come from small arrangements between friends, but from citizen legitimacy ”, tackle Eva Sas, support of Yannick Jadot.
“When we see the decomposition of social democracy, the rebels tightened around Jean-Luc Mélenchon, Montebourg who lives his life… Those who manage to go beyond, it’s us. We have given a flattering image of political ecology. In a context of mistrust, it’s good to take, ”abounds EELV MEP David Cormand, former boss of the movement. “Before, nobody cared about the green candidate. Today, even our opponents want to come and vote
to parasitize our primary, it shows that we have become a real issue, ”adds this support from Eric Piolle.
For Julien Bayou, the party is already in working order and is already looking towards next April. “Today we find ourselves better organized than the so-called” government “right, which still has no candidate or means of appointing him. This shows that we are not here to make an appearance in 2022 but to win ”.