A by-election was held in
Haute-Garonne's 8th constituency
Haute-Garonne's 8th constituency is a French legislative constituency in Haute-Garonne.
A by-election was held within the constituency in 2018 after the election of Joël Aviragnet was annulled. This led to the election of Joël Aviragnet agai ...
on 11 March 2018, with a second round on 18 March as no candidate secured a majority of votes in the first round. The by-election was prompted after the
Constitutional Council invalidated the election of
Joël Aviragnet
Joël Aviragnet is a French politician representing the Socialist Party. He was elected to the French National Assembly on 18 June 2017, representing the department of Haute-Garonne's 8th constituency. His election was annulled by the Constit ...
, candidate of the
Socialist Party
Socialist Party is the name of many different political parties around the world. All of these parties claim to uphold some form of socialism, though they may have very different interpretations of what "socialism" means. Statistically, most of th ...
(PS), in the
June 2017 legislative elections on 18 December 2017.
Aviragnet was re-elected by a massive margin in the second round rematch against Montsarrat, securing over 70% of valid votes and winning by a margin 40 points larger than in June 2017.
Background
Following the second round of the
2017 legislative election in
Haute-Garonne's 8th constituency
Haute-Garonne's 8th constituency is a French legislative constituency in Haute-Garonne.
A by-election was held within the constituency in 2018 after the election of Joël Aviragnet was annulled. This led to the election of Joël Aviragnet agai ...
on 18 June,
Michel Montsarrat, candidate of
La République En Marche!
Renaissance (RE) is a political party in France that is typically described as liberal and centrist or centre-right. The party was originally known as (EM) and later (, LREM, LaREM or REM), before adopting its current name in September 2022 ...
defeated by 91 votes, filed an appeal with the
Constitutional Council appealing the election of
Joël Aviragnet
Joël Aviragnet is a French politician representing the Socialist Party. He was elected to the French National Assembly on 18 June 2017, representing the department of Haute-Garonne's 8th constituency. His election was annulled by the Constit ...
of the
Socialist Party
Socialist Party is the name of many different political parties around the world. All of these parties claim to uphold some form of socialism, though they may have very different interpretations of what "socialism" means. Statistically, most of th ...
(PS). Montsarrat questioned a number of irregularities, including those in several communes where Aviragnet multiplied his result in the second round.
On 18 December, the constitutional council annulled the election of Aviragnet, considering the irregularities listed by Montserrat to have affected 4 votes given differences in signatures indicating that votes were not given by the voter in question, 1 vote in
Saint-Bertrand-de-Comminges
Saint-Bertrand-de-Comminges (, literally ''Saint-Bertrand of Comminges''; Gascon language, Gascon: ''Sent Bertran de Comenge'') is a Communes of France, commune (municipality) and former episcopal see in the Haute-Garonne Departments of France, ...
and 10 votes in
Montastruc-de-Salies
Montastruc-de-Salies (; ) is a commune in the Haute-Garonne department in southwestern France.
Population
See also
*Communes of the Haute-Garonne department
The following is a list of the 586 communes in the French department of Haute ...
given discrepancies between the number of ballots and signatures, and 64 votes in the only polling station in
Gensac-de-Boulogne where article L. 68 of the electoral code, requiring the registration lists of every polling station and associated documents be transmitted along with the record of voting operations after the completion of voting, was not respected. Given these issues, and the small number of votes separating the two candidates, the constitutional council judged it appropriate to annul the result and call a by-election within the constituency. The first and second rounds of the by-election are scheduled for 11 and 18 March 2018, with candidacies to submitted between 12 and 16 February.
Polling stations throughout the constituency will be open from 8:00 to 18:00 CET, with those in
Saint-Gaudens open until 19:00 CET.
Candidates and campaign
Michel Montsarrat, a former rugby player for
AS Béziers Hérault
Association sportive de Béziers Hérault (; ), often referred to by rugby media simply by its location of Béziers, is a French rugby union club currently playing in the second level of the country's professional rugby system, Pro D2. They earn ...
,
later a restaurateur,
and hotel manager living in
Luchon, was once again invested as a candidate of
La République En Marche!
Renaissance (RE) is a political party in France that is typically described as liberal and centrist or centre-right. The party was originally known as (EM) and later (, LREM, LaREM or REM), before adopting its current name in September 2022 ...
, supported by the nine deputies of the presidential party in the department.
On 30 January, the
Union of Democrats and Independents
The Union of Democrats and Independents (, , UDI) is a Liberalism, liberal List of political parties in France, political party in France and former electoral alliance founded on 18 September 2012 on the basis of the UDI and Independents group, e ...
(UDI) decided to back Montsarrat in the by-election, breaking from the party's historical alliance with the right. The initial campaign of Montsarrat was considered lethargic,
and was perturbed by the apparent theft of the laptop of his campaign director on 25 January, adding to existing frustration with his campaign management. Montsarrat was castigated early on over the potential closure of the court of
Saint-Gaudens, and later over the invitation of Montsarrat to a visit by
Laura Flessel
Laura Flessel-Colovic (born 6 November 1971) is a French politician and Fencing, épée fencer who served as Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports (France), Minister of Sports from 2017 to 2018. Born in Pointe-à-Pitre, Guadeloupe, she has won th ...
as a "deputy for Haute-Garonne" on a published list of invitees. On 9 January, justice minister
Nicole Belloubet
Nicole Belloubet (born 15 June 1955) is a French jurist and politician who served as Minister of National Education in the government of Prime Minister Gabriel Attal in 2024.
A former member of the Socialist Party (PS), Belloubet served as Mini ...
visited the constituency in support of Montsarrat, the first of a series of ministers to visit the constituency to campaign, followed by Minister of Territorial Cohesion
Jacques Mézard
Jacques Mézard (born 3 December 1947) is a French lawyer and politician of the Radical Party of the Left who has been serving as a member of the Constitutional Council since 2019. He previously served as Minister of Agriculture and Food in 2017 ...
on 12 February, government spokesman
Benjamin Griveaux
Benjamin-Blaise Griveaux (; born 29 December 1977) is a French politician of La République En Marche! (LREM) who served as Government Spokesman from 2017 to 2019 under Prime Minister Édouard Philippe. From 2017 until 2021, he also served as a ...
on 15 February, and finally
Christophe Castaner
Christophe Castaner (; born 3 January 1966) is a French politician who served as Minister of the Interior from 16 October 2018 to 6 July 2020 under President Emmanuel Macron. He had been elected in 2017 for a three-year term as chairman (''délég ...
on 2 March.
Castaner held a second public meeting, this time alongside
Genevieve Darrieussecq, on 3 March, and
Jean-Michel Blanquer
Jean-Michel Blanquer (; born 4 December 1964) is a French jurist and government official serving as Minister of National Education under Prime Ministers Édouard Philippe and Jean Castex from 2017 to 2022.
Education and early career
Born in t ...
and
Gérard Collomb
Gérard Collomb OQ (; 20 June 1947 – 25 November 2023) was a French politician who served as Mayor of Lyon from 2001 to 2017 and again from 2018 until 2020. He joined La République En Marche! (LREM) in 2017, when he left the Socialist Party ...
traveled to the constituency on 9 March. Local elected supporters, including deputy
Mickaël Nogal
Mickaël Nogal (born 26 November 1990) is a French politician of La République En Marche! (LREM) who served as a member of the French National Assembly from 2017 to 2022, representing Haute-Garonne's 4th constituency.
Political career
Nogal ...
and mayor of
Rieumes
Rieumes (; ) is a commune in France, commune in the Haute-Garonne Departments of France, department in southwestern France.
Population
See also
*Communes of the Haute-Garonne department
*Maquis de Rieumes
References
Communes of Hau ...
Jennifer Courtois-Périssé, attended a public meeting with Montsarrat on 23 February.
Joël Aviragnet
Joël Aviragnet is a French politician representing the Socialist Party. He was elected to the French National Assembly on 18 June 2017, representing the department of Haute-Garonne's 8th constituency. His election was annulled by the Constit ...
, a specialized educator,
and
Socialist Party
Socialist Party is the name of many different political parties around the world. All of these parties claim to uphold some form of socialism, though they may have very different interpretations of what "socialism" means. Statistically, most of th ...
(PS) mayor of
Encausse-les-Thermes, also received the renewed support of his party, and was backed by
Carole Delga
Carole Delga (; born 19 August 1971) is a French politician of the Socialist Party (PS) who has been serving as the President of the Regional Council of Occitania since 2016.
Delga is considered to be a potential candidate in the 2027 French ...
, president of the regional council of
Occitanie, who selected him as a substitute, with Aviragnet occupying her seat in the
National Assembly
In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the repr ...
from July 2014 to July 2015.
Socialist deputy
Valérie Rabault
Valérie Rabault (French: help:IPA/French, aleʁi ʁabo born 25 April 1973) is a French engineer and politician of the Socialist Party (France), Socialist Party (PS) who has presided over the Socialist group, associated (National Assembly), So ...
appeared at a public meeting on 20 February to back Aviragnet, who also benefited from the strength of local party activists.
Henri Nayrou
Henri Nayrou (born 21 November 1944 in Suc-et-Sentenac, Ariège) is a French journalist and politician who has been president of the departmental council of Ariège since November 2014. A member of the French Socialist Party, he represented ...
, president of the departmental council of
Ariège, attended a public meeting with Aviragnet, who was later joined not only by Delga, but also by Georges Méric, president of the departmental council of Haute-Garonne, at a public meeting on 7 March.
Over the course of the campaign, Aviragnet visited all 283 communes in the constituency. Marie-Claire Uchan, like Aviragnet, is a mayor, presiding over
Saint-Bertrand-de-Comminges
Saint-Bertrand-de-Comminges (, literally ''Saint-Bertrand of Comminges''; Gascon language, Gascon: ''Sent Bertran de Comenge'') is a Communes of France, commune (municipality) and former episcopal see in the Haute-Garonne Departments of France, ...
, and in a statement, almost 150 mayors in the constituency called upon voters to support Aviragnet. The movement
Bastir Occitanie, which presented Jérôme Piques as its candidate in June 2017, decided to back Aviragnet in the by-election. Aviragnet held another public meeting with Delga and Méric on 14 March,
and received the support of the
French Communist Party
The French Communist Party (, , PCF) is a Communism, communist list of political parties in France, party in France. The PCF is a member of the Party of the European Left, and its Member of the European Parliament, MEPs sit with The Left in the ...
(PCF) in the second round, as well as that of
Génération.s, the movement of
Benoît Hamon
Benoît Hamon (; born 26 June 1967) is a French politician known for his former role within the Socialist Party (PS) and Party of European Socialists (PES) and his political party Génération.s.
Hamon joined the Socialist Party in 1988 an ...
.
Philippe Gimenez, a financial comptroller,
also returned to the field with the investiture of
La France Insoumise
La France Insoumise (LFI or FI; , ) is a left-wing political party in France. It was launched in 2016 by Jean-Luc Mélenchon, then a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) and former co-president of the Left Party (PG). It aims to implement th ...
. On 15 February, deputy
François Ruffin
François Marcel Joseph Bernard Ruffin (; born 18 October 1975) is a French journalist, filmmaker, author and politician. The editor-in-chief of the satirical quarterly ''Fakir'', which he founded, he is best known for directing the 2016 film ' ...
toured the constituency in support of Gimenez, followed by a public meeting with
Jean-Luc Mélenchon
Jean-Luc Antoine Pierre Mélenchon (; born 19 August 1951) is a French politician who has been the ''de facto'' leader of La France Insoumise (LFI) since it was established in 2016. He was the Deputy (France), deputy in the National Assembly ( ...
on 21 February, which was attended by nearly a thousand people. On 2 March,
Liêm Hoang-Ngoc
Liêm Hoang-Ngoc (; born 11 December 1964 in Saigon, South Vietnam) is a Vietnamese-born French economist and Member of the European Parliament elected in the 2009 European election for the East France constituency as a member of the French ...
attended two public meetings with Gimenez, was joined by
Clémentine Autain
Clémentine Autain (; born 26 May 1973) is a French politician and journalist who has represented Seine-Saint-Denis's 11th constituency in the National Assembly since the 2017 French legislative election. Autain is the daughter of singer Yvan ...
on 3 March, and followed by
Caroline Fiat
Caroline Paulette Yvette Fiat (; née Nicolas, 28 January 1977) is a French medical caregiver and politician who represented the Meurthe-et-Moselle's 6th constituency, 6th constituency of the Meurthe-et-Moselle Departments of France, department ...
on 4 March. Deputy
Alexis Corbière
Alexis Corbière (; born 17 August 1968) is a French politician. He has been member of the National Assembly for the 7th constituency of the Seine-Saint-Denis department since 2017. Corbière was also a spokesperson for La France Insoumise an ...
then visited on 6 and 7 March to campaign in support of Gimenez.
The selection of a candidate of
The Republicans (LR) proved more difficult. Though Jennifer Courtois-Périssé,
regional councillor and mayor of Rieumes, was considered the natural candidate in the constituency, she left the party to join La République En Marche!, in which she held a national leadership position. Party members then sought president of the LR regional federation and former deputy
Laurence Arribagé
Laurence Arribagé (25 May 1970) is a French politician and communications advisor.
She is a member of the Union for a Popular Movement party. She served as Member of Parliament (France), member of Parliament from 2014 to 2017. She is deputy mayo ...
to run in the by-election, but were rebuked. However, recently elected president of the party
Laurent Wauquiez
Laurent Timothée Marie Wauquiez (; born 12 April 1975) is a French politician who has presided over the Regional Council of Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes from 2016 to 2024. He is a member of The Republicans (LR), which he led from 2017 to 2019 follow ...
made clear his desire to present a candidate in the constituency,
and his entourage sought to bypass the regional federation in the investiture process. Philippe Maurin, a 63-year-old resident of
Luchon who served as deputy mayor of
Montauban
Montauban (, ; ) is a commune in the southern French department of Tarn-et-Garonne. It is the capital of the department and lies north of Toulouse. Montauban is the most populated town in Tarn-et-Garonne, and the sixth most populated of Oc ...
under
Brigitte Barèges
Brigitte Barèges (; born 1 May 1953) is a French politician and lawyer who has been a member of the National Assembly since 2024, representing Tarn-et-Garonne's 1st constituency. She is a member of the Union of the Right for the Republic (UDR ...
from 2008 to 2014, was ultimately selected as the party's candidate on 16 January. On 6 March,
Christian Jacob, president of
The Republicans group in the National Assembly, traveled to the constituency to offer his backing to the candidacy of Maurin.
The
National Front (FN) also declared its intent to present a candidate within the constituency,
with regional councillor Marie-Christine Parolin,
an administrative agent,
again invested by the party.
After a public meeting with deputy
Gilbert Collard
Gilbert Georges Jean Camille René Collard (; born 3 February 1948) is a French writer, barrister and politician serving as a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) since 2019. A member of the National Rally (RN) until 2022, he was a member of ...
on 28 January, she appeared alongside party president
Marine Le Pen
Marion Anne Perrine "Marine" Le Pen (; born 5 August 1968) is a French lawyer and politician of the far-right National Rally, National Rally party (RN). She served as the party's president from 2011 to 2021, and ran for the French presidency in ...
and deputy
Louis Aliot
Louis Aliot (; born 4 September 1969) is a French politician and the vice president of the National Rally (previously named National Front) since 2011. A member of the FN Executive Office, Executive Committee and Central Committee, Aliot has bee ...
on 3 March.
Corinne Marquerie, a retired educator,
also returned as the candidate of the PCF, and was joined by
Member of the European Parliament
A member of the European Parliament (MEP) is a person who has been Election, elected to serve as a popular representative in the European Parliament.
When the European Parliament (then known as the Common Assembly of the European Coal and S ...
Marie-Pierre Vieu at a public meeting on 1 March. On 1 February,
Nicolas Dupont-Aignan
Nicolas Dupont-Aignan (; born 7 March 1961), sometimes referred to by his initials NDA, is a French politician serving since 2008 as president of the minor party Debout la France. He was its only member in the National Assembly (France), Nationa ...
, president of
Debout la France
Debout la France (, , DLF), originally called Debout la République (, , DLR), is a French political party founded by Nicolas Dupont-Aignan in 1999 as the "genuine Gaullist" branch of the Rally for the Republic. It was relaunched again in 200 ...
, presented 49-year-old former LR member Sébastien Broucke, a principal education adviser from Saint-Gaudens, as the party's candidate, with the party's candidate in June, Laure Gonzalez, initially selected as his substitute; however, Gonzalez withdrew for personal reasons, and was replaced by campaign coordinator Jean-Claude Bringuier. Mayor of
Ore
Ore is natural rock or sediment that contains one or more valuable minerals, typically including metals, concentrated above background levels, and that is economically viable to mine and process. The grade of ore refers to the concentration ...
Hervé Minec stood as the candidate of the
Popular Republican Union (UPR), with party president
François Asselineau
François Asselineau (, born 14 September 1957) is a French politician and an Inspector General for finances.
Asselineau was a member of the Rally for France (RPF) and UMP before creating his own political party the Popular Republican Union (U ...
visiting in support. Marie-Cécile Seigle-Vatte, a retired professor of economics and management, stood for
Europe Ecology – The Greens
The Ecologists – Europe Ecology The Greens (), commonly known as The Ecologists (, LE) and formerly as Europe Ecology The Greens ( , EELV ) until 2023, is a centre-left to left-wing green political party in France. The party is a member of th ...
(EELV). Starting in 1983, she served several mandates as a municipal councillor, including in
Fonsorbes
Fonsorbes (; ) is a commune of the Haute-Garonne department in southwestern France.
Population
The inhabitants of the commune are known as Fonsorbais.
Twin towns
Fonsorbes is twinned with:
* La Fatarella, Spain (Since 1994).
See also
*Comm ...
,
Saint-Denis de la Réunion, and
Agassac
Agassac () is a commune in the Haute-Garonne department in southwestern France.
Geography
The commune is bordered by five other communes: Martisserre to the north, Mauvezin to the east, Castelgaillard to the south Coueilles to the southwes ...
. A member of the party's federal council and regional executive office, she received the support of
Julien Bayou
Julien Bayou (born 11 June 1980) is a French activist, lawyer and politician who has represented the 5th constituency of Paris in the National Assembly from 2022 to 2024. A member of the Europe Ecology – The Greens (EELV) party, he served as i ...
, national spokesman for the EELV, in a visit to the constituency on 1 March. Martine Guiraud, a laboratory technician, stood for
Lutte Ouvrière
Lutte Ouvrière (, ) is a Trotskyist communist party in France, named after its weekly paper. Arlette Laguiller was the party's spokeswoman from 1973 to 2008 and ran in each presidential election until 2012, when Nathalie Arthaud was the candi ...
(LO),
and Francis Meynier for the European Alliance for Peace, Prosperity, Sharing.
The campaign centered around the themes of rurality and agriculture in the
Comminges
The Comminges (; Occitan language, Occitan/Gascon language, Gascon: ''Comenge'') is an ancient region of southern France in the foothills of the Pyrenees, corresponding approximately to the arrondissement of Saint-Gaudens in the departments of Fran ...
region, the preservation of public services (including the threatened closure of the court in Saint-Gaudens, and issues of transport, access to digital and medical services, and housing. Candidates also discussed the reopening of the Montréjeau–Luchon railway line, restoration of ski stations (including the planned restoration of the Luchon gondola), and installation of telephone towers in isolated municipalities.
Before the first round, Gimenez proposed a public debate against Montsarrat; though the latter suggested that it was "healthy to debate", he postponed making a decision until after returning from the
Paris International Agricultural Show. He ultimately declined, and indicated that while he was open to the idea, he believed that the proposal was not made in good faith, viewing the exclusion of the PS candidate as an effort to claim the flag of the "true anti-Macron opposition". On 14 March, 100% Radio,
ViàOccitanie
Vià Occitanie is a French television channel, part of the ''Vià'' network, operating in the Occitanie region of southern France. Formerly known from 2011 until 2017 as TVSud, the channel provides local programming for the cities of southern Fra ...
, and ''
La Dépêche du Midi
''La Dépêche'', formally ''La Dépêche du Midi'' (), is a regional daily newspaper published in Toulouse in Southwestern France with seventeen editions for different areas of the Midi-Pyrénées region. The main local editions are for Toul ...
'' hosted a debate moderated by Olivier Roirand and Brice Vidal between Aviragnet and Montsarrat from 19:00 to 20:00 CET.
2017 election result
2018 by-election result
References
External links
Results of past legislative by-elections from the Ministry of the Interior
{{By-elections to the 15th National Assembly of France
Haute
Haute may refer to:
People
* Nicholas Haute (1357 – c.1415), English knight, landowner and politician
** William Haute (MP)
William Haute (1390–1462) of Bishopsbourne, Kent, was an English politician.
Early life
Haute was born 1390 in Wa ...
March 2018 in France