How did PACA vote?

Hollande takes national lead, while in the PACA region, Sarkozy remains strong and Le Pen gains ground

The Riviera is traditionally a UMP strong-hold, so it was no surprise that Sarkozy would lead in the polls here. It was in Cannes and Antibes where Sarkozy recorded his best scores, more than 40 per cent. But he didn’t manage to muster the same support in the Provence Alpes Côte d’Azur as in 2007, losing around eight points on his previous support figure.

Those votes appear to have gone to Marine Le Pen, who drew a surprising 10 points more for her party than in 2007. There was little difference in Hollande’s Socialist Party popularity; it registered more or less the same score than the last election in which Hollande’s ex-girlfriend, Segolene Royale, was running the party.

In the Alpes Maritimes, the vote overwhelmingly went to Nicolas Sarkozy, who recorded 37.19 per cent compared to just 19.21 per cent for Hollande. Marine Le Pen came in second, taking 23.50 per cent of the votes. However in Nice, Hollande drew 21.9 per cent, almost the same as Marine Le Pen, and he did considerably better in the larger cities than in rural areas. There was a strong turnout in the Alpes Maritimes, with 80.1 per cent of the local population making their voices heard.

It was a similar story in the Var, where participation was at 80.59 per cent. The majority again voted for Nicolas Sarkozy with 34.78 per cent, followed by Marine Le Pen at 24.83 per cent, and Francois Hollande at 19.65 per cent.

Of the remaining candidates, Jean-Luc Mélenchon fared best, achieving 8.49 in the Alpes Maritimes and 9.13 in the Var.

Senator and Mayor of Valbonne Sophia Antipolis Marc Daunis said in a statement that he was pleased with the large number of people who participated in the vote, and congratulated Hollande on his success. “Our citizens have chosen to say stop to this succession of unjust reforms, of jeopardising social achievements, health, education, employment, industry, and especially the widening of the abyss of public finances resulting in a doubling of our national debt in a five-year term.”

Overall, Sarkozy took 27 per cent of the national vote, while Hollande won 28.5 per cent, and Le Pen 18.1 per cent.

Sarkozy and Hollande will face eachother in a second round of voting on 6th May.

Cassandra Tanti