A move abroad. The National Rally candidate for the presidential elections, Marine Le Pen, took the final results announced by the Interior Ministry in the second ballot on Sunday 24. Five years ago, Emmanuel Macron prevailed in the overseas communities, notably winning 77.5% of the vote in Martinique, 75.1% of the vote in Guadeloupe and 64.9% of the vote in Guyana.
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In these three departments, Marine Le Pen’s leadership is clear. In Guadeloupe, where the abstention rate reached 52.82%, the far-right candidate received 69.60% of the vote on Sunday, versus 30.40% for Emmanuel Macron. The outgoing President received just 39.13% of the vote in Martinique, versus 60.87% for his rival, with an abstention rate of 54.55%. For Guyana, Marine Le Pen came out on top with 60.70% of the vote, while Emmanuel Macron received 39.30% of the vote. There, abstention was particularly high at 61.10%.
On Réunion, Marine Le Pen received 59.57% of the votes versus 40.43% for the head of state, with 40.61% abstaining. The far-right candidate received 59.1% of the vote in Mayotte, while Emmanuel Macron received 40.9% of the vote, with 54.51% abstaining.
“My thanks go in particular to our compatriots in the provinces and in the countryside, but also overseas, who largely put me at the head of the second round with an extraordinary power that honors me and sincerely touches me.”
Marine LePen
during his speech after the second round of presidential elections
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The far-right candidate also took first place in Saint-Barthélemy and Saint-Martin, although her advantage there is less pronounced: Marine Le Pen received 55.42% of the votes there, versus 44.58% for the outgoing president. In Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon, Marine Le Pen received 50.69% of the votes. However, the head of state comes first in Wallis and Futuna (67.44%), New Caledonia (61.04%) and French Polynesia (51.8%).
Martial Foucault, director of Cevipof and holder of the Overseas Chair of Sciences Po, first conjured up “a surprise” when announcing these results. “The massive arrival at the helm of Jean-Luc Mélenchon (in the first round in these areas) has not turned into a push for Emmanuel Macron,” stresses the university professor interviewed by franceinfo.
“This indicates that Jean-Luc Mélenchon’s voice markings, which may have appeared ambiguous, were not received.”
Martial Foucault, director of Cevipof
at franceinfo
In the first round on April 10, the candidate of La France insoumise prevailed in six overseas territories, receiving 56.16% of the votes in Guadeloupe, 53.1% in Martinique, 50.59% of the votes in Guyana and 40.26 % on Reunion. “We mustn’t give Madame Le Pen a single vote,” the Insoumis leader had hammered when the results were announced.
The director of Cevipof also notes that another call to elect Emmanuel Macron, made by certain elected local officials in the overseas territories, was not heeded.
According to Martial Foucault, “Marine Le Pen’s arrival at the helm should not be interpreted as a vote in support of her programme”. “This is a rejection vote for Emmanuel Macron,” emphasizes the Cevipof director. In the West Indies, the researcher observes that the National Rally candidate “soaked up with health anger the votes that Jean-Luc Mélenchon was able to collect in the first round”. Indeed, these results are in line with the large protest movement against compulsory vaccination for caregivers and the health passport, both in Guadeloupe and Martinique.
“The handling of the crisis was perceived by the West Indians as disastrous that winter.”
Martial Foucault, director of Cevipof
at franceinfo
Asked by franceinfo, the Secretary of State for European Affairs, Clément Beaune, conceded that “the health problem undoubtedly played a very strong role in these results”. “No doubt there were misunderstandings between Paris and the overseas territories,” he continues.
“The repressive reaction with the deployment of the police and the health scandals have awakened a lot of opposition to a compulsory vaccination policy,” emphasizes Martial Foucault. Related to the health anger, Marine Le Pen has managed to capture the “social anger” in the overseas territories, the director of Cevipof continues. “This question is not new in the Antilles. Jean-Luc Mélenchon carried this vote” until the first round “with a very interventionist state”. “There, the voters around Marine Le Pen found a mixture of social anger and health anger.”