The incumbent candidate for the 8th constituency of French citizens living abroad, Meyer Habib, affiliated with the right-wing Les Républicains (LR), was defeated by Caroline Yadan (Renaissance, President Emmanuel Macron's party), according to the results released by the Interior Ministry. Yadan won with 52.7% of the vote, versus 47.3% for Habib, who is close to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
The 8th constituency for French citizens abroad includes several countries around the Mediterranean, including Israel, Italy, Greece and Turkey.
Habib had held his seat since 2013. Yadan was previously an MP representing Paris, elected as a substitute for Stanislas Guerini in 2022, and having taken up the post after Guerini's appointment to the Ministry of Transformation and the Civil Service.
"This election is the continuation of a journey of commitment, authenticity and sincerity," Yadan posted overnight on X. "I will continue the fight to defend universal values that have always been mine, probably more so today than yesterday. I will continue to be a local MP for my entire constituency. I congratulate Meyer Habib on his courage and his 12-year career as an MP. I am particularly outraged by the messages he has received since the announcement of our results, which are hateful, anti-Semitic and foul," she added.
Habib, for his part, posted a video in which he speaks from the Wailing Wall in Jerusalem, accusing Yadan of having "allied herself with the anti-Semitic far left." He said he was "worried for France" and promised, "This is just a goodbye."
Translation of an original article published in French on lemonde.fr; the publisher may only be liable for the French version.