“Beaten, but not defeated. And I will always stand. » On the evening of his defeat, in the first round of the early legislative elections, June 30, 2024, Fabien Roussel, the outgoing deputy, was stunned. “I saw the results of the first polling stations in Saint-Amand-les-Eaux, I understood immediately”says the nationwide secretary of the French Communist Party (PCF) and mayor of town. In the 20e Northern constituency, communist stronghold since 1962, we had grow to be accustomed to snug victories. However, it’s the younger candidate of the National Rally (RN), Guillaume Florquin, who has simply introduced down the bastion.
At the guts of this district, Saint-Amand-les-Eaux is a type of medium-sized cities which have lengthy lived off close by mining exercise. A business city in a rural and dealing space, which has supported small metallurgical and glass industries, a union and militant tradition, and a singularity: its mineral water springs and its thermal baths.
Fabien Roussel has been there since 2014 within the crew of communist Alain Bocquet, thirty years on the head of town. The man who was additionally a PCF deputy constantly for thirty-nine years determined, in January 2025, to hold up the tricolor sash to put in Fabien Roussel within the mayor’s chair. If he mentions causes of age (he’s 79 years previous) and well being, this handover fifteen months earlier than the municipal elections gives a stepping stone to the person he dubbed as his successor and who’s struggling after his defeat.
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https://www.lemonde.fr/politique/article/2026/02/14/municipales-a-saint-amand-les-eaux-fabien-roussel-defend-l-heritage-du-communisme-municipal-et-joue-son-avenir-national_6666754_823448.html