A first regional election debate was held in the premises of Sciences Politiques in Aix-en-Provence this Wednesday. It featured five of the nine first-round candidates, including Thierry Mariani and Renaud Muselier, who finally had the opportunity for a face-to-face exchange after rather heated interactions through the media.
The LR and RN candidates were also opposed to Jean-Laurent Felizia, leader of the EELV, PS, PCF, and Génération.s. Opposite him was the other ecologist in this campaign, Jean-Marc Governatori for Cap Écologie, who refused to join Felizia’s list, deeming it too left-leaning. Also present was Noël Chuisano, representing Debout la France.
Throughout the 90-minute exchange, the candidates laid out the main points of their programs and discussed the issues concerning the region’s residents.
Crime, immigration, unemployment, and the environment were the topics where the candidates were highly anticipated. Transport and its accessibility, as well as the opening up of the territory, were also central to the discussions.
With this first debate, the candidates were also tasked with convincing citizens to travel and vote.
In 2015, during the first round of the regional elections, 48.1% of voters abstained. In the second round, the abstention rate was still 39.7%.
