"In my constituency, Pierre Cazeneuve, our 30-year-old member of the Assemblée Nationale [Renaissance, Macron's party], was re-elected in the first round. Of course, we're in Saint-Cloud [a well-off western Paris suburb], and there was no LR [right-wing Les Républicains] candidate, but it's not bad for the governing coalition. I got involved in the campaign, less by leafleting for him than by writing songs for him. I like strumming guitar and I've recorded covers of Francis Cabrel and Nino Ferrer with political lyrics. One example is 'Est-ce Macron qui a fait le con ou le génie d'une fine stratégie?' ['Is Macron the jerk or the genius of a good strategy?'] to the tune of 'Le Téléfon.' I sent it to the Saint-Cloud activists' WhatsApp group.
During previous elections, I did a lot of leafleting for the Macron camp. It made me realize that voting is a pretty gut-based thing. There are those who don't want to see you, those who give you a hostile look or come up to you and say nasty things. 'Macron the money man,' 'Macron, spawn of evil.' Ha, I've heard some of those! Fortunately, you'll also come across people who can talk things over calmly, with a more social-democratic profile.
I've always been very surprised by the irrational detestation Macron provokes, particularly among right-wing sympathizers. Maybe they think he's taken [former LR candidate François] Fillon's place [in the 2017 presidential election] and also because of his profile, which is a bit out of the ordinary. I still have a favorable opinion of the president. He's hyper brilliant, even if the dissolution stunt, I wouldn't say it's a brilliant idea... Let's say it's in line with his transgressive agenda. I'm not disappointed. He is what he is, and it's a dog's job to be at the Elysée. In seven years, he's faced so many difficulties, and France hasn't been badly managed. Unemployment and certain taxes have fallen. Admittedly, the country is more in debt, but there was the Covid crisis. I don't find him arrogant. He's very much in touch with the people. I don't know if he listens to them enough, but he's out in the field.
If I voted again for his camp, it's because I don't really see any choice. We're in a three-block restructuring, and I can't vote for LFI [La France Insoumise, the radical left-wing party] whose violence I detest. I resented the Socialists for this alliance with them. There's [LFI leader Jean-Luc] Mélenchon, and I find his attitude of intimidation in public debate quite odious. I talked about it with my brothers and sisters on the family chat group, telling them that I didn't understand why they could vote for the [left-wing alliance] Nouveau Front Populaire and LFI.
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