Olivier Véran and Philippe Poutou Face Defeats in French Legislative Elections

The end of a short mandate saw Olivier Véran, the former Minister of Health, not re-elected in his constituency, the 1st of Isère. With 40.33% of the votes, Véran was narrowly defeated by the rebellious Hugo Prévost of the New Popular Front, who secured 42.18% of the vote. Véran acknowledged his defeat on X, highlighting the broader victory over the extreme right.

In the first round, Véran had secured 33.62% of the votes, trailing behind the LFI candidate who had 40.19%. Despite congratulating voters for rejecting the extreme right, Véran's criticisms of his NFP competitor and Jean-Luc Mélenchon did not sway enough voters. Prévost thus succeeded Véran as deputy for the first constituency of Isère.

Véran, reinvested by the Renaissance party, claimed to run 'without partisan logic.' Having returned to Parliament last February after leaving the government, where he served in various ministerial roles since 2017, Véran announced a partial reconversion to aesthetic medicine before returning to neurosurgery in Grenoble.

Similarly, Philippe Poutou, narrowly reaching the second round in the 1st constituency of Aude with 18.7% of the votes, was defeated by Christophe Barthès of the National Rally. Barthès, who nearly won in June with 49.33%, secured 61.44% of the votes in the second round, while Poutou received 38.56%. Despite the voting instructions from various left-wing factions, Poutou did not gain enough support.

Poutou, a three-time presidential candidate and spokesperson for the New Anticapitalist Party, faced accusations of being parachuted into his Aude constituency. Despite controversies and an investigation targeting his party for apology for terrorism, Poutou managed to reach the second round, a notable feat.