Jean Lassalle is being prosecuted by the prosecutor of Pau, Cécile Gensac, for having staged his abstention from voting at the ballot box on Sunday in the second round of the presidential election. He filmed himself proclaiming it loud and clear in his polling station. The video was then shared on social media. Sanction of the Constitutional Council on Wednesday: the 90 votes cast in Lourdios-Ichère were canceled.
_”_Certainly there was an incident but are we responsible for this incident?” – Jean – resident of Lourdios-Ichère
The inhabitants do not understand why their voices were not taken into account. Jean, a resident, went to vote, as he has done for years, in his town hall: “We never cast my vote except this time, I’ll take it into account! I won’t go anymore since we don’t count. I hope that many of us will do it even if we are a very small village .” A village of 155 people where Jean has always lived. “Certainly there was an incident but are we responsible for this incident? If it had happened in Paris, would we have invalidated the vote of the Parisians too? “
Misunderstanding of the penalty
The mayor of Lourdios-Ichère, Marthe Clot, was present when he filmed himself. She understands neither the controversy nor the judicial twist that this case takes: “It’s a bit too strong. It does not deserve to go to court. He made his gesture, of course, but there was no influence with the population who were able to come and vote. is exaggerated but hey, the law remains the law.”
Beyond denouncing the sanction they suffer, other inhabitants defend the politician. Dominique, 53, has known him for years. “There are more serious things in France. Jean Lassalle was in line with the comments he made during his campaign. I respect his choice to abstain. It did not influence the others in any way.” He argues that “Jean Lassalle is a good person. Making a whole controversy about it is sad and ridiculous. It’s mainly to put a stick on his fingers.”