In the first constituency of the Hautes-Pyrénées, after the results of the first round of the legislative elections, the poster is the same as five years ago, except that the candidates redo the match, upside down ! Overtaken in 2017, the Insoumise Sylvie Ferrer comes first this time for the Nupess, with 24.69% of the vote. The outgoing deputy of the presidential majority Jean-Bernard Sempastous is him, 511 votes behind (23.59% of the votes). The two candidates debated face to face this Tuesday morning on France Bleu Béarn Bigorre, a debate in partnership with The New Republic of the Pyrenees.
“Not so surprising” results
The candidate says to herself “satisfied” of its results, with better scores than in 2017. “It’s the result of a lot of work, and a programmatic agreement that works” according to her. Asked about her voice reserves, especially on the side of the voters of the defeated PRG-PS candidate Maryse Beyrié. “The Socialists are in agreement” recalled Sylvie Ferrer. “But Madame Beyrié has chosen not to respect the agreement. We have a left-wing program, we are not abandoning the working classes, so Maryse Beyrié’s proposals are found at Nupes. We say, if you want retirement at 60, vote for Nupes, if you want it at 65, vote Sempastous”.
I am continuing the work I have been doing for five years – Jean-Bernard Sempastous
Jean-Bernard Sempastous explained for his part that his outgoing position is not the most comfortable : “It’s always more complicated to be outgoing, the dynamic is different from that of 2017. But we assume our balance sheet and our project”. According to the two candidates, Sunday night’s results are not so surprising. “We are the only two parties to have campaigned” recognizes Jean-Bernard Sempastous, “The other candidates haven’t worked. So today the positioning is clear: Sylvie Ferrer and her Mélenchonist program and me, who is continuing the work I’ve been doing for five years”.
Jean-Bernard Sempastous thus defended his record as a deputy, but also the record of Emmanuel Macron’s five-year term. Five years of policies strongly criticized by his rival Insoumise Sylvie Ferrer: “We have a program to break with the policy of Emmanuel Macron, a brutal policy at the social level, of ecological inaction. People were able to realize that the working classes were not a concern”.
Heated debate over the hospital
The two candidates debated on the subject of health, with sometimes tense exchanges. The outgoing deputy Jean-Bernard Sempastous assured that the Bagnères-de-Bigorre hospital was doing well, and happened to be the least indebted establishment in the department. He admittedly recognized recruitment issuesdifficulties in finding doctors.
There were mobilizations for the hospital, in Tarbes and Bagnères. I haven’t seen you much – Sylvie Ferrer
For Sylvie Ferrer, on the contrary, there are financing problems. She points to government policy and the number of beds closed under Emmanuel Macron’s five-year term, including some in the midst of the covid crisis. As a result, she says: “the Bagnères emergencies are closed, those of Tarbes are saturated because of the closures at the Ormeau clinic, the staff are leaving the public hospital given the working conditions” said Sylvie Ferrer, while tackling her opponent: “it’s a subject on which I haven’t seen you much, in Tarbes and Bagnères, there have been mobilizations, I haven’t seen you”.
“There should be no ambient demagoguery on health” replies Jean-Bernard Sempastous. “We use this subject to scare people, but we can only solve the problem if we globalize the solutions, if they are common”.
The two candidates also disagreed on the subject of mountain tourism, the outgoing deputy defending policies to rehabilitate these territories, Sylvie Ferrer insisting on the climate emergency and the need to include mountain policies in an environmental dimension. On education, the tone is also raised. Sylvie Ferrer castigated the closure of classes, which she attributed to a problem of means. “Like caregivers, teachers are fleeing public services”. According to Jean-Bernard Sempastous, this is a demographic problem and not a financial one.