This Sunday will be the first round of the by-election for 88,286 voters who will be called to the polls in 118 polling stations, including 66 in Nice. The second round will take place on May 29.
This election is being held to replace Christian Estrosi, the long-standing elected official of this constituency, who resigned due to the accumulation of mandates after becoming President of the PACA Region.
In fact, he’s stepping aside only to return through the back door, as he will be the substitute for the LR candidate, the favorite to succeed him: Marine Brenier, a 29-year-old lawyer who joined the “young popular” movement in 2007 and became its national delegate in 2012. She then became a metropolitan councilor in 2011, deputy to Christian Estrosi at the Nice city hall in 2014, and finally a departmental councilor in 2015.
Christian Estrosi clearly intends to keep his influence but praises “his” candidate highly. However, one question arises: Why not allow the likely future elected to fly solo?
Facing Marine Brenier, who has the support of the LR “war machine” occupying the 28 town halls of the constituency, there will be six other candidates.
The outsider is Michel Brutti, a 59-year-old former entrepreneur representing the Front National, aligned with Marine Le Pen, who will most likely force the LR candidate into a second round. This same Butti had a promising score during the 2015 cantonal elections with over 40% of the votes. He will benefit especially from the tailwind propelling his anti-establishment party forward among the popular classes.
The Socialist Party presents Chaama Graillat, 53 years old, an employee of a cleaning company calling herself the “candidate of real life.” With the PS for 6 years, she is the secretary of the 5th constituency’s section and replaces the historic candidate Paul Cuturello. Her chances of success are as low as her party’s presence in local elections has been for some time now: slim.
The other candidates, sometimes mere extras who will have this election as an opportunity to make themselves heard but nothing more, are: Philippe Pellegrini (Left Front), Romane Raiberti-Ingigliardi (SE), Christine Beyl (Independent Ecological Alliance), Nicolas Rousseaux (DVD), a “specialist” in by-elections who has already run this year in the Nord and Loire-Atlantique.
Pascal Reva, one of the initiators of Nuit Debout in Nice, announced his participation and then immediately withdrew from the race following a negative vote from the movement’s general assembly.
He is still officially a candidate, as his withdrawal announcement came after the deadline for submitting candidacies: too many sleepless nights have likely made the ideas of this caricatured movement even more muddled.
To the polls, citizens!
