The town of Blendecques, in northern France, has borne the full brunt of the devastating effects of climate change, with repeated floods, and now homes and lives to rebuild. But of the 4,926 inhabitants, according to the last census, in 2020, including 3,715 registered voters, 28 chose to vote for the Greens in the European elections, on Sunday, June 9.
The party that is supposed to embody the fight against climate change didn't exactly benefit from a tidal wave at the polls. The list of candidates led by Marie Toussaint obtained 1.72% of the vote in Blendecques, dropping into 10th place, down from third in 2019 when Yannick Jadot scored 7.12%. A long way from the far-right Rassemblement National (RN) and its 50.7%, but also behind the Rural Alliance (2.52 %) and the Animalist Party (2.22 %). Assessors even counted more invalid (2.52%) and blank (2.23%) ballots than Green.
"We're the first climate refugees," said Vincent Maquignon, the independent deputy mayor for sports in Blendecques. His pretty red-brick house is about to be razed to the ground, like a dozen others in his street, squeezed between two arms of the River Aa. The government will buy them to build a retention basin.
'I can't stand these people'
A neighbor marked on his garage door the heights measured in the house: 30 centimeters on November 6, 2023, 100 centimeters on November 10, 110 centimeters on February 1. "It's heartbreaking to have to leave, but, with global warming, flooding is going to repeat itself and intensify," said Maquignon, 52. The father of a family is also a manager at France's inland waterway navigation authority, as could be seen from his polo. But his job as a witness of climate change didn't steer him toward the Green vote in the European elections: "One day they're insulting each other, and the next day they're all buddies. I can't stand these people. I prefer [President Emmanuel] Macron or [Regional Council President Xavier] Bertrand" who, according to him, are more consistent.
Bertrand, the conservative head of the region, donned his boots to see the damage at the family home. "His staff calls me every week to check up," said Maquignon. For the snap elections on June 30, he will be looking for a candidate with experience "on the field." Despite the "petty arrangements between the parties," he expects to vote for incumbent MP Bertrand Petit (left-wing independent), who is backed by the Nouveau Front Populaire left-wing alliance: "The others, like the young man from the RN [Auguste Evrard, 24], we didn't see during the floods."
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