A shift overseas. The National Rally candidate for the presidential election, Marine Le Pen, came first in the West Indies, Reunion, Guyana and Mayotte in the second round of voting on Sunday April 24, while she collected 41, 45% of the vote nationwide, according to the final results communicated by the Ministry of the Interior. Five years ago, Emmanuel Macron came out on top in overseas communities, notably winning 77.5% of the vote in Martinique, 75.1% of the vote in Guadeloupe and 64.9% in Guyana.
>> Presidential results 2022: follow the evening of the second round in our live
In these three departments, Marine Le Pen’s lead is clear. In Guadeloupe, where the abstention rate reached 52.82%, the far-right candidate collected 69.60% of the vote on Sunday, against 30.40% for Emmanuel Macron. The outgoing president won only 39.13% of the vote in Martinique, against 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 39.30% of the votes went to Emmanuel Macron. Abstention, at 61.10%, was particularly high there.
In Reunion, Marine Le Pen won 59.57% of the vote, against 40.43% for the Head of State, with an abstention of 40.61%. The far-right candidate won 59.1% of the vote in Mayotte, while Emmanuel Macron won 40.9% of the vote, with an abstention of 54.51%.
“My thanks go particularly to our compatriots in the provinces and the countryside, but also overseas, who largely placed me at the head of the second round with an extraordinary force which honors me and sincerely touches me.”
Marine Le Penduring his speech after the second round of the presidential election
>> Find the results of the second round of the presidential election, municipality by municipality, in our search engine
The far-right candidate also came first in Saint-Barthélemy and Saint-Martin, even if her lead there is less marked: Marine Le Pen won 55.42% of the vote there, against 44.58% for the outgoing president. . In Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon, Marine Le Pen obtained 50.69% of the vote. The Head of State, however, comes first in Wallis and Futuna (67.44%), in New Caledonia (61.04%) and in French Polynesia (51.8%).
Martial Foucault, director of Cevipof and holder of the Overseas Chair of Sciences Po, first evokes “A suprise” upon announcement of these results. “The massive arrival at the head of Jean-Luc Mélenchon (in these territories, in the first round) did not turn into an advance for Emmanuel Macron”points out the university professor interviewed by franceinfo.
“This suggests that Jean-Luc Mélenchon’s voting instruction, which might seem ambiguous, was not received.”
Martial Foucault, director of Cevipofat franceinfo
In the first round, on April 10, the candidate of La France insoumise came out ahead in six overseas territories, obtaining 56.16% of the vote in Guadeloupe, 53.1% in Martinique, 50.59% of the vote in Guyana and 40.26% in Reunion. “We must not give a single voice to Madame Le Pen”, had hammered the leader of the Insoumis at the announcement of the results.
The director of Cevipof also notices that another call to vote for Emmanuel Macron, that of certain local elected officials in the overseas territories, was not followed.
According to Martial Foucault, “Marine Le Pen’s arrival at the top should not be interpreted as a vote to support her program”. “It’s a vote of rejection towards Emmanuel Macron”, emphasizes the director of Cevipof. In the West Indies, the researcher observes that the candidate of the National Rally “sucked up the vote with a sanitary anger, which Jean-Luc Mélenchon had been able to collect in the first round”. These results are indeed in line with the vast movement of protest against the vaccination obligation for caregivers and the health pass, in Guadeloupe as well as in Martinique.
“The management of the crisis was perceived as catastrophic by the West Indians this winter.”
Martial Foucault, director of Cevipofat franceinfo
Asked by franceinfo, the sSecretary of State for European Affairs, Clément Beaune, concedes that “the health issue has undoubtedly played a very strong role” in these results. “There were doubtless misunderstandings between Paris and the overseas territories”, he continues.
“The repressive response, by sending in the police, and the health scandals have generated a lot of rejection towards a compulsory vaccination policy”, emphasizes Martial Foucault. In connection with health anger, Marine Le Pen has managed to capture “social anger” in the overseas territories, continues the director of Cevipof. “This question is not new in the West Indies. Jean-Luc Mélenchon carried that voice” until the first round, “with a very interventionist state”. “There, voters found a combination of social anger and health anger around Marine Le Pen.”