The pull of the far-right, as seen from a small town in Normandy
As one of a series of reports looking into the rise of support for the far-right in France, Mediapart chose to visit the small town of Gaillon, in southern Normandy, about 100 kilometres north of Paris, with a population of around 6,500. Nejma Brahim travelled to Gaillon to interview inhabitants of an apartment building in the centre of the town, after they agreed to talk about their hopes and fears and political choices, shedding light on the tensions and dissatisfaction that may well drive a far-right victory in nationwide municipal elections next year, and presidential and parliamentary elections due in 2027.
MichèleMichèle lives on the first floor of an apartment building situated close to a hostel for asylum seekers, a social centre and a gendarmerie station. A vigorous knocking on her front door was needed to be heard above the clamour of the television behind it. “Mediapart?” asked Michèle (not her real name), during introductions, “I don’t like them, those ones.” She doesn’t read Mediapart, but has heard bad things said about it. She nevertheless let us in.
