(L’Escarène) “We just want to be peaceful”: in L’Escarène, Blausasc or Berre-les-Alpes, three rather peaceful villages in the Nice hinterland (south-east), the fear of the outside fueled by the media and social networks boosts the results of the extreme right.
In this former “red valley” of Paillon, long a left-wing bastion, northeast of Nice, the National Rally (RN) is now winning the national elections. In the second rounds in 2022, Marine Le Pen exceeded 70% in the presidential election while Alexandra Masson, outgoing RN deputy, came close to them in the legislative elections.
“Most successive elections have failed to take into account people’s frustration and desire to protest […]. They are afraid of being forgotten,” explains Jean-Claude Vallauri, 59, surveyor and deputy mayor (without label) of L’Escarène since 2008.
Even if they are rather isolated and aging, these three villages remain dynamic, with a living environment or real estate prices that attract young workers. The schools are new and full, the local shops are still open.
L’Escarène (2,600 inhabitants) has just inaugurated a medical center and maintains a post office as well as a train station, even if the line will soon close for 18 months for work. A little buried, the village remains the worst off of the three.
On the hillside, Blausasc (1,600 inhabitants) can count on royalties from the quarries operated by the Vicat cement group. Berre-les-Alpes (1,200 inhabitants), perched on a summit, attracts tourists with its steep streets and sumptuous views.
“I barricade myself”
Here, life is peaceful. “No insecurity, no immigration,” the residents repeat.
Certainly, a man suspected of burglary died two years ago after being beaten up by residents in L’Escarène. But residents are especially worried about television or social networks sending them national news.
“The kids who stick a knife and then recently a young girl who was attacked, raped… We were calm and now I have to check everything in the evening. I’m barricading myself! », Explains Jean-Marie Sigaut, 83-year-old retiree, at bingo at the Blausasc seniors club, in reference to attacks which have taken place in recent months in France.
In this wealthy village, a security guard is bored every day at the entrance and exit of the school.
“Here in the village we have no problems, we are protected,” notes a forty-year-old, bus driver in Monaco. But at the national level, “we had the left, and the right, and the middle. So if we try the extreme right, maybe that will change.”
“Not fascists”
Like him, some RN voters refuse to give their name, but many others do not hesitate, like Cathy Devillers, 43, naturopath and psychotherapist in L’Escarène: “Here we are calm and I am not not racist at all. I just want to protect our values, our country and our children.”
“The veil, the halal, fed up,” says Louis, a 72-year-old former mason. “I’ve been a communist my whole f***ing life, but for 20 years I’ve had enough of it. When we go down to do the shopping (in the supermarkets on the outskirts of Nice), we only see veiled women,” he maintains.
“I worked with Arabs, Albanians, Italians… They were good people, but today that is no longer the case,” he still asserts, without supporting his accusations.
“Not all people who vote RN are fascists,” assures Stéphanie, 54, trader in Berre-les-Alpes. “We especially don’t want to have a dictatorship […]. We just want to be peaceful.”
But not everyone votes for the far right. As elsewhere, some do not vote at all. “They’re puppets,” storms a customer at the bar at L’Escarène. “I don’t care,” says a passerby. “Politics isn’t my thing,” assures a resident of Berre-les-Alpes.
Others despair of their neighbors: “It’s jovial, we say hello, we greet each other, we know each other’s children. And then we look at the electoral results and we say to ourselves “ouch, that stings!” “, testifies Laetitia Aicardi, 49-year-old supporting students with disabilities at L’Escarène.
A former socialist, Mr. Sigaut understands: “The RN has changed. Jean-Marie Le Pen, at the beginning, he scared me […]. There, it’s different. We have people we can talk to. Afterwards, I don’t know what they are going to do. I hope it will work “.