2018 Haute-Garonne's 8th constituency by-election

A by-election was held in Haute-Garonne's 8th constituency 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, candidate of the Socialist Party (PS), in the June 2017 legislative elections on 18 December 2017.

2018 Haute-Garonne's 8th constituency by-election

11 March 2018 (first round) 18 March 2018 (second round)
Turnout	34.41% 18.35% (first round) 33.08% 14.13% (second round)
Nominee Joël Aviragnet Michel Montsarrat Party PS REM–UDI 1st round % 10,777 38.74% 20.96% 5,651 20.31% 13.09% 2nd round % 17,156 70.30% 20.17% 7,247 29.70% 20.17%   Nominee Philippe Gimenez Marie-Christine Parolin Party FI FN 1st round % 3,623 13.02% 1.08% 3,264 11.73% 3.50% 2nd round % Eliminated Eliminated
Incumbent Deputy Joël Aviragnet PS

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 on 18 June, Michel Montsarrat, candidate of La République En Marche! defeated by 91 votes, filed an appeal with the Constitutional Council appealing the election of Joël Aviragnet of the Socialist Party (PS). Montsarrat questioned a number of irregularities, including those in several communes where Aviragnet multiplied his result in the second round.[1]

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 and 10 votes in Montastruc-de-Salies 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.[2] The first and second rounds of the by-election are scheduled for 11 and 18 March 2018,[3] with candidacies to submitted between 12 and 16 February.[4]

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.[5]

Candidates and campaign

Michel Montsarrat, a former rugby player for AS Béziers Hérault,[1] later a restaurateur,[6] and hotel manager living in Luchon, was once again invested as a candidate of La République En Marche!, supported by the nine deputies of the presidential party in the department.[7] On 30 January, the Union of Democrats and Independents (UDI) decided to back Montsarrat in the by-election, breaking from the party's historical alliance with the right.[8] The initial campaign of Montsarrat was considered lethargic,[9] 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.[10] Montsarrat was castigated early on over the potential closure of the court of Saint-Gaudens,[11] and later over the invitation of Montsarrat to a visit by Laura Flessel as a "deputy for Haute-Garonne" on a published list of invitees.[12] On 9 January, justice minister Nicole Belloubet visited the constituency in support of Montsarrat,[13] the first of a series of ministers to visit the constituency to campaign,[14] followed by Minister of Territorial Cohesion Jacques Mézard on 12 February,[15] government spokesman Benjamin Griveaux on 15 February,[16] and finally Christophe Castaner on 2 March.[5] Castaner held a second public meeting, this time alongside Genevieve Darrieussecq, on 3 March,[17] and Jean-Michel Blanquer and Gérard Collomb traveled to the constituency on 9 March.[18] Local elected supporters, including deputy Mickaël Nogal and mayor of Rieumes Jennifer Courtois-Périssé, attended a public meeting with Montsarrat on 23 February.[19]

Joël Aviragnet, a specialized educator,[6] and Socialist Party (PS) mayor of Encausse-les-Thermes, also received the renewed support of his party, and was backed by Carole Delga, president of the regional council of Occitanie, who selected him as a substitute, with Aviragnet occupying her seat in the National Assembly from July 2014 to July 2015.[7] Socialist deputy Valérie Rabault appeared at a public meeting on 20 February to back Aviragnet,[20] who also benefited from the strength of local party activists.[9] Henri Nayrou, president of the departmental council of Ariège, attended a public meeting with Aviragnet,[21] 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.[22] 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, and in a statement, almost 150 mayors in the constituency called upon voters to support Aviragnet.[23] The movement Bastir Occitanie, which presented Jérôme Piques as its candidate in June 2017, decided to back Aviragnet in the by-election.[24] Aviragnet held another public meeting with Delga and Méric on 14 March,[25] and received the support of the French Communist Party (PCF) in the second round,[26] as well as that of Génération.s, the movement of Benoît Hamon.[27]

Philippe Gimenez, a financial comptroller,[6] also returned to the field with the investiture of La France Insoumise.[28] On 15 February, deputy François Ruffin toured the constituency in support of Gimenez,[29] followed by a public meeting with Jean-Luc Mélenchon on 21 February,[30] which was attended by nearly a thousand people.[31] On 2 March, Liêm Hoang-Ngoc attended two public meetings with Gimenez, was joined by Clémentine Autain on 3 March, and followed by Caroline Fiat on 4 March.[32] Deputy Alexis Corbière then visited on 6 and 7 March to campaign in support of Gimenez.[22]

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 to run in the by-election, but were rebuked. However, recently elected president of the party Laurent Wauquiez made clear his desire to present a candidate in the constituency,[33] and his entourage sought to bypass the regional federation in the investiture process.[34] Philippe Maurin, a 63-year-old resident of Luchon who served as deputy mayor of Montauban under Brigitte Barèges from 2008 to 2014, was ultimately selected as the party's candidate on 16 January.[35] 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.[36]

The National Front (FN) also declared its intent to present a candidate within the constituency,[33] with regional councillor Marie-Christine Parolin,[7] an administrative agent,[6] again invested by the party.[7] After a public meeting with deputy Gilbert Collard on 28 January,[37] she appeared alongside party president Marine Le Pen and deputy Louis Aliot on 3 March.[7]

Corinne Marquerie, a retired educator,[6] also returned as the candidate of the PCF,[38] and was joined by Member of the European Parliament Marie-Pierre Vieu at a public meeting on 1 March.[39] On 1 February, Nicolas Dupont-Aignan, president of Debout la France, 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;[40] however, Gonzalez withdrew for personal reasons, and was replaced by campaign coordinator Jean-Claude Bringuier.[41] Mayor of Ore Hervé Minec stood as the candidate of the Popular Republican Union (UPR),[42] with party president François Asselineau visiting in support.[43] Marie-Cécile Seigle-Vatte, a retired professor of economics and management, stood for Europe Ecology – The Greens (EELV). Starting in 1983, she served several mandates as a municipal councillor, including in Fonsorbes, Saint-Denis de la Réunion, and Agassac. A member of the party's federal council and regional executive office, she received the support of Julien Bayou, national spokesman for the EELV, in a visit to the constituency on 1 March.[44] Martine Guiraud, a laboratory technician, stood for Lutte Ouvrière (LO),[6] and Francis Meynier for the European Alliance for Peace, Prosperity, Sharing.[45]

The campaign centered around the themes of rurality and agriculture in the Comminges 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.[6]

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.[46] 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".[47] On 14 March, 100% Radio, ViàOccitanie, and La Dépêche du Midi hosted a debate moderated by Olivier Roirand and Brice Vidal between Aviragnet and Montsarrat from 19:00 to 20:00 CET.[48][25]

2017 election result

First round results by commune

Second round results by commune

Candidate		Party	First round		Second round
			Votes	%	Votes	%
	Michel Montsarrat	REM	14,541	33.40	17,179	49.87
	Joël Aviragnet	PS	7,739	17.78	17,270	50.13
	Marie-Christine Parolin	FN	6,630	15.23
	Philippe Gimenez	FI	6,142	14.11
	Jean-Luc Rivière	UDI–LR	3,802	8.73
	Corinne Marquerie	PCF	1,346	3.09
	Sophie Handschutter	EELV	1,220	2.80
	Laure Gonzalez	DLF	616	1.41
	David Labarre	R!	510	1.17
	Jérôme Piques	PNO	345	0.79
	Martine Guiraud	LO	293	0.67
	Kévin Redondo	UPR	278	0.64
	Véronique Miralles	AEI	73	0.17
Votes			43,535	100.00	34,449	100.00
Valid votes			43,535	96.59	34,449	85.41
Blank votes			1,030	2.29	3,671	9.10
Null votes			509	1.13	2,212	5.48
Turnout			45,074	52.76	40,332	47.21
Abstentions			40,358	47.24	45,094	52.79
Registered voters			85,432		85,426
Source: Ministry of the Interior, political parties

2018 by-election result

Candidate		Party	First round			Second round
			Votes	%	+/–	Votes	%	+/–
	Joël Aviragnet	PS	10,777	38.74	+20.96	17,156	70.30	+20.17
	Michel Montsarrat	REM–UDI	5,651	20.31	–13.09	7,247	29.70	–20.17
	Philippe Gimenez	FI	3,623	13.02	–1.08
	Marie-Christine Parolin	FN	3,264	11.73	–3.50
	Philippe Maurin	LR	1,374	4.94	–3.79
	Marie-Cécile Seigle-Vatte	EELV	878	3.16	+0.35
	Corinne Marquerie	PCF	733	2.63	–0.46
	Sébastien Broucke	DLF	706	2.54	+1.12
	Hervé Minec	UPR	297	1.07	+0.43
	Guy Jovelin	PDF	270	0.97	+0.97
	Martine Guiraud	LO	244	0.88	+0.20
	Francis Meynier	SE	2	0.01	+0.01
Votes			27,819	100.00	–	24,403	100.00	–
Valid votes			27,819	94.82	–1.76	24,403	86.54	+1.13
Blank votes			1,518	5.28	+1.76	2,000	7.09	–2.01
Null votes						1,794	6.36	+0.88
Turnout			29,337	34.41	–18.35	28,197	33.08	–14.13
Abstentions			55,916	65.59	+18.35	57,032	66.92	+14.13
Registered voters			85,253			85,229
Source (1st round): Préfecture de la Haute-Garonne, Ministère de l'Intérieur Second round: Préfecture de la Haute-Garonne, Ministère de l'Intérieur

References

1. Sébastien Marti (29 June 2017). "Michel Montsarrat (LREM) a déposé son recours contre l'élection de Joël Aviragnet (PS)". La Dépêche du Midi. Retrieved 18 December 2017.
2. "Décision n° 2017-5098/5159 AN du 18 décembre 2017". Conseil constitutionnel. 18 December 2017. Retrieved 18 December 2017.
3. "Décret n° 2018-40 du 23 janvier 2018 portant convocation des électeurs pour l'élection d'un député à l'Assemblée nationale (8e circonscription de Haute-Garonne)". Légifrance. 25 January 2018. Retrieved 4 February 2018.
4. "Élection d'un député à l'assemblée nationale (8e circonscription de la Haute-Garonne) : dépôt des candidatures". Préfecture de la Haute-Garonne. 8 February 2018. Retrieved 9 February 2018.
5. Louis Rayssac (3 March 2018). "Christophe Castaner soutient Michel Montsarrat". La Dépêche du Midi. Retrieved 10 March 2018.
6. Jean-François Lardy-Gaillot (9 March 2018). "Législative partielle : des enjeux politiques bien au-delà du Comminges et du Savès". La Dépêche du Midi. Retrieved 10 March 2018.
7. "Législative partielle: 12 candidats pour le siège du seul rescapé PS de Haute-Garonne". France 3 Occitanie. 21 February 2018. Retrieved 10 March 2018.
8. Arthur Berdah (30 January 2018). "Législatives partielles : l'UDI va soutenir des candidats LREM face à LR". Le Figaro. Retrieved 30 January 2018.
9. Laurent Dubois (15 January 2018). "Législative Partielle en Haute-Garonne : En Marche ! lance (enfin) sa campagne". France 3 Midi-Pyrénées. Retrieved 20 January 2018.
10. Laurent Dubois (29 January 2018). "Législative partielle en Haute-Garonne : le vol d'un ordinateur perturbe la campagne d'En Marche !". France 3 Midi-Pyrénées. Retrieved 10 March 2018.
11. Laurent Dubois (17 January 2018). "Haute-Garonne Législative Partielle : polémique autour du maintien du tribunal de Saint-Gaudens". France 3 Midi-Pyrénées. Retrieved 10 March 2018.
12. Laurent Dubois (5 February 2018). "Législative en Haute-Garonne : une visite ministérielle met le feu entre le PS et En Marche". France 3 Midi-Pyrénées. Retrieved 10 March 2018.
13. "Michel Montsarrat : " Non, le tribunal de Saint-Gaudens n'est pas menacé "". Le Petit Journal. 9 January 2018. Retrieved 10 March 2018.
14. Laurent Dubois (23 January 2018). "Défilé de ministres et de personnalités nationales pour la législative partielle en Haute-Garonne". France 3 Midi-Pyrénées. Retrieved 10 March 2018.
15. "Un ministre en visite sur le marché". La Dépêche du Midi. 13 February 2018. Retrieved 10 March 2018.
16. "Michel Montsarrat et Benjamin Griveaux rencontrent des entrepreneurs ruraux". Le Petit Journal. 19 February 2018. Retrieved 10 March 2018.
17. Sébastien Bouchereau (28 February 2018). "Castaner soutient le candidat LREM dans la législative partielle, et sera à Saint-Gaudens vendredi". La Dépêche du Midi. Retrieved 10 March 2018.
18. Helene Menal (10 March 2018). "Haute-Garonne: Pourquoi la législative partielle de dimanche est si importante (surtout pour le PS et En Marche)". 20 minutes. Retrieved 10 March 2018.
19. "Législatives : Michel Montsarrat et Sabine Godet au contact des citoyens". La Dépêche du Midi. 23 February 2018. Retrieved 10 March 2018.
20. Laurent Dubois (13 February 2018). "Législatives Haute-Garonne : le PS " joue " le pouvoir d'achat". France 3 Midi-Pyrénées. Retrieved 10 March 2018.
21. "Joël Aviragnet, un candidat en reconquête". Le Petit Journal. 19 February 2018. Retrieved 10 March 2018.
22. Philippe Rioux (2 March 2018). "Christophe Castaner, ce soir en soutien à M. Montsarrat". La Dépêche du Midi. Retrieved 10 March 2018.
23. Louis Rayssac (8 March 2018). "Carole Delga et Georges Méric soutiennent Joël Aviragnet". La Dépêche du Midi. Retrieved 10 March 2018.
24. "Election législative partielle : Bastir Occitanie soutient Joël Aviragnet". Le Petit Journal. 26 February 2018. Retrieved 10 March 2018.
25. Manon Haussy (13 March 2018). "Législative partielle : les clés du deuxième tour". La Dépêche du Midi. Retrieved 16 March 2018.
26. Laurent Dubois (13 March 2018). "Le PC appelle à voter pour le candidat socialiste dans la législative en Haute-Garonne". France 3 Midi-Pyrénées. Retrieved 16 March 2018.
27. Laurent Dubois (15 March 2018). "Le mouvement de Benoît Hamon soutient le candidat PS dans la législative en Haute-Garonne". France 3 Midi-Pyrénées. Retrieved 16 March 2018.
28. "Législatives partielles : la France insoumise présente dans toutes les circonscriptions". La France Insoumise. 12 January 2018. Retrieved 21 January 2018.
29. Laurent Dubois (4 February 2018). "Législative Haute-Garonne : le très médiatique François Ruffin entre dans le match". France 3 Midi-Pyrénées. Retrieved 10 March 2018.
30. Gaëtane Rohr (13 February 2018). "Législatives à Saint-Gaudens : Jean-Luc Mélenchon et François Ruffin viennent soutenir leur candidat". La Dépêche du Midi. Retrieved 10 March 2018.
31. Arthur Nazaret; Laurent-David Samama (28 February 2018). "Jean-Luc Mélenchon et ses Insoumis en quête d'un second souffle". Le Journal du Dimanche. Retrieved 10 March 2018.
32. "La dynmaque France Insoumise autour de Philippe Gimenez". Le Petit Journal. 6 March 2018. Retrieved 10 March 2018.
33. Laurent Dubois (5 January 2018). "Législative partielle : la candidature de Laurence Arribagé poussée par son parti". France 3 Midi-Pyrénées. Retrieved 20 January 2018.
34. Laurent Dubois (25 January 2018). "L'ex-députée (LR) de la Haute-Garonne, Laurence Arribagé, évincée des instances nationales de son parti". France 3 Midi-Pyrénées. Retrieved 10 March 2018.
35. Sébastien Marti (16 January 2018). "8e circonscription de Haute-Garonne : Les Républicains désignent Philippe Maurin". La Dépêche du Midi. Retrieved 20 January 2018.
36. Louis Rayssac (7 March 2018). "Christian Jacob (LR) croit en Philippe Maurin". La Dépêche du Midi. Retrieved 10 March 2018.
37. "Le FN tire les Rois avec Nicolas Bay". La Dépêche du Midi. 21 January 2018. Retrieved 21 January 2018.
38. "Le PCF dans la bataille des législatives partielles". La Dépêche du Midi. 31 January 2018. Retrieved 31 January 2018.
39. "La candidate PCF Corinne Marquerie en réunion publique". Le Petit Journal. 6 March 2018. Retrieved 10 March 2018.
40. Louis Rayssac (1 February 2018). "Nicolas Dupont-Aignan vient présenter son candidat". La Dépêche du Midi. Retrieved 2 February 2018.
41. "Changement de suppléant pour Debout La France". Le Petit Journal. 20 February 2018. Retrieved 10 March 2018.
42. "Législatives : Hervé Minec candidat". La Dépêche du Midi. 3 February 2018. Retrieved 3 February 2018.
43. "François Asselineau en soutien d'Hervé Minec". La Dépêche du Midi. 8 March 2018. Retrieved 10 March 2018.
44. ""L'écologie ne peut être l'affaire que des écologistes"". La Dépêche du Midi. 21 February 2018. Retrieved 10 March 2018.
45. "Haute-Garonne : les 12 candidats à la législative partielle dans la 8e circonscription". La Dépêche du Midi. 18 February 2018. Retrieved 18 February 2018.
46. Laurent Dubois (28 February 2018). "Législative : la France Insoumise veut débattre publiquement avec le candidat En Marche". France 3 Midi-Pyrénées. Retrieved 10 March 2018.
47. Laurent Dubois (1 March 2018). "Législative en Haute-Garonne : pas de débat entre France Insoumise et En Marche". France 3 Midi-Pyrénées. Retrieved 10 March 2018.
48. "100% et ViàOccitanie s'associent pour un débat". La Lettre Pro de la Radio et des Médias. 9 March 2018. Retrieved 9 March 2018.

External links

• Results of past legislative by-elections from the Ministry of the Interior (in French)