“Desperately looking for sponsorships” . This is the announcement that some candidates for the presidential election of 2022 could publish. While the ballot takes place in five months, they are at the beginning of November in full operation seduction with the local elected officials, in particular of the mayors, to obtain the 500 mandatory signatures in order to be able to officially participate in the election.
In Mareau-aux-Prés (Loiret), for example, the mayor has already received around ten requests. “Fabien Roussel, Jean-Luc Mélenchon, Jean Lassalle, Florian Philippot, Marine Le Pen, Hélène Thouy …”, Bertrand Hauchecorne list by opening its dedicated pocket. The elected representative of this town of 1,500 inhabitants is sometimes a little taken aback by the names of the candidates. “Jacline Mouraud, I don’t even know who it is”, he said of the former figure of the “yellow vests” movement.
Yet none of these letters or emails motivate the mayor. “I am in the state of mind not to sponsor”, explains the one who used to sponsor the socialist candidate before leaving the PS. He no longer feels obligated to support someone. “I am not in favor of the idea of sponsoring a small candidate who will make the figuration or defend a particular project. As for the others, no one will really need me”, he believes.
“As the mayor of a small town, it is not worth taking too much sides in this sort of thing.”
Bertrand Hauchecorne, mayor of Mareau-aux-Prés (Loiret)to franceinfo
Bertrand Hauchecorne has the typical profile of mayors of small towns. Often, these elected officials do not have a political label and their municipal councilors have different convictions. They regularly have the impression that they are only interested in when it comes to elections. “We are approached every five years and once we have given our sponsorship, it’s over!”, annoys Alain Martin, mayor of Mérobert (Essonne). The elected representative of this town of 600 souls said to himself “really disappointed” by the attitude of the candidates. “I would like small municipalities to be well recognized compared to large metropolises.” He denounces in particular the slowness around the file for renovating a church in his municipality and the difficulties in obtaining subsidies to renovate the roads.
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In the small town of Molières (Essonne), the mayor will not grant his sponsorship either. Among the letters received by the city councilor of this town of 2,000 inhabitants, there is that of Eric Zemmour. The putative candidate sent him twice “a proposal for a meeting, not necessarily with him by the way”, he specifies. “I said it was not worth it, that it was better to stop sending messages”, recount Yvan Lubraneski. The objective of his abstention decision is to denounce a lack of democratic practice because, in his municipality, he practices cooperative democracy. “We are trying to establish a real link with the citizens and we do not see the identical of this local democracy through this presidential election”, deplores Yvan Lubraneski, who also intends to get the message across through a forum, signed by many mayors.
“None of the candidates took the care, for a year, of building a project by going to see the citizens on the ground and, above all, by working with them. It is not simply a question of going to symbolic places to shake hands. “
Yvan Lubraneski, mayor of Molières (Essonne)to franceinfo
The various testimonies of these mayors are verified in figures. Indeed, fewer and fewer elected officials agree to sponsor candidates. Thus, out of the 42,000 mayors of France, departmental and regional councilors, elected from the Corsican assembly or overseas assemblies, deputies or senators, 17,815 had signed for a candidate in 2002. In 2017, they were 14,296. Only a third of elected officials (34%) sponsor candidates. This proportion is even lower if we look only at the category of mayors.
It is impossible for the moment to know where the candidates are in their collections because each one only collects sponsorship promises. The official period for sending them will not open until February. But to stand out in this race for sponsorships, the small candidates must scramble, unlike the candidates of the large parties, such as The Republicans or the Socialist Party, which can count on many elected officials. The candidate of the party Les Patriotes, Florian Philippot, for example, puts his hand in the dough. “I have to contact mayors on the phone and see them. I will also organize more and more meetings of mayors in the cantons”, he explains. At his side, several hundred activists prospect directly in town halls.
“We have to put a lot of time and energy into this sponsorship business.”
Florian Philippot, presidential candidateto franceinfo
At the other end of the political spectrum, at Permanent Revolution and its candidate Anasse Kazib, the strategy is the same. “We take the road early in the morning to go to the town hall or directly to the mayors”, thus tells Léo, a student who spent a week on tour in the Lot for that. “We meet them and ask them to please give us a few minutes of discussion.” At his side, Elsa ensures that, if the mayors are in great demand, he receives few physical visits. “We can therefore have different types of discussions and sponsorships”, she explains.
“On a weekend of touring, we have already done 1,000 kilometers.”
Elsa, Permanent Revolution activistto franceinfo
Léo and Alsa arrive armed with their map of France and their patter. “For some, it is a democratic sponsorship. Whether they agree or not, they have inherited this responsibility. Sometimes there are also real political meetings”, underline the two activists. Like them, dozens of pairs travel across France for Permanent Revolution, even if it means spending several days away from home. To roam their speech, they can consult a guide or watch video tutorials developed by their party.
France rebellious has much the same approach and relies on its activists in the four corners of the country. To organize the work of volunteers, they are invited to download an application on their phone. “This platform allows everyone to say: ‘This mayor, who is ten kilometers from my home, I will take care of meeting him’, “ describes Guylem Serieys, who coordinates the system. Subsequently, the volunteer can provide several indications: “Has the mayor already granted his sponsorship promise to another candidate? Does he need to think about it? We know in particular whether it is useful to contact him again in a few weeks.”
Jean-Luc Mélenchon, Anasse Kazib and Florian Philippot have at least one point in common: they believe that the system of sponsorship by elected officials is no longer suitable. The rebels propose, for example, to replace it with a system with a minimum number of citizens.
Finally, another technique is used by at least one sovereignist candidate: calling on a private service provider. We have identified a man, Norbert Chetail, who offers its services every five years. It has ahe communication and public relations agency, trains activists in canvassing and also goes to town halls. He thus prides himself on having collected a thousand signatures in four elections.