We thought you might like an idea of how the area plays out in the political arena. After a couple of years of right wing government lead by M Raffarin of the UMP (itself a union of right wing elements - primarily the old RPR and the UDF) following the massive defeat of the socialists evidenced by M Jospin's failure to reach the second round of the presidential elections, there was real interest to see what the Regional and Cantonal elections of March 2004 would provide.

The first round of a two stage poll was held on Sunday 21st March and two elections took place in the Aude : the "Regionals" and the "Cantonals". In the Hérault, there were only the Regionals, the last Cantonals in the Hérault were only in March 2001 so the next are not due for another couple of years or so. The Regionals were to elect a government for each Region (in our case the Region of Languedoc-=Roussillon) and the cantonals are for electing a representative for the Conseil Général of the Aude, the government of the 'departement'.

The rate of abstention stopped climbing and descended for the first time in many years to a national average of 37%. Languedoc-Roussillon had 33.7% and the Minervois 31%, falling to 28% in the second round.

We are going to speak of the results of the first round of the elections because it shows how the vote splits between the various parties. In the second round, any party who failed to get 5% of the vote in the first round is obliged to drop out and their votes go elsewhere. For example, in the second round, the PC, the Ecolos and the PS stood together as a united left party ("Union toute"). The FN and the UMP do not cooperate for two reasons : the UMP despises the politics of the FN accusing it of racism, the FN blames the left wingers (socialist parties) and the right wingers (of the UMP) equally for what they consider is the disastrous position that France finds itself in today. So in the second round, (if the FN gets through), the right wing vote tends to get split in a three way poll : PS / UMP / FN.

The French say that it the first round they vote more with their heart for the party they want. In the second round, they tend to vote more strategically to keep out those they dislike. This is why we believe the results of the first round will give you a more interesting view of the way the people of the different villages in the Minervois feel about their politics.

In any case, the results were a pretty crushing blow to the ruling right wing UMP with all the Regions of France ending up with a Socialist majority except Alsace-Lorraine which remained on the right. Many Ministers of Raffarin's government had been heading lists in the regional elections and they were almost all seriously defeated. The socialists also rang up substantial gains in the 'departements'.

The Raffarin government's reaction to the results was to claim that it was a pretty normal result for a government mid way through its mandate especially since they had been facing up to important reforms, ignored by succesive previous governments, needed to keep France up with evolution on the world stage. They claimed that some of those protesting were adversely affected by the reforms so far put in hand and the other protest votes were down to those who were upset that other reforms still remained to be implemented. The socialists claimed that the results demonstrated that the Raffarin governemnt now had no legitimacy and that President Chirac should replace him with a socialist government.

Other commentators said that French voters, in recent times, would always vote against the government in power on the grounds that it was incompetent. "Incompetent" in the sense that competence for most things of importance now resides in Europe rather than in the nation-states. Whereas this might well be true, it is unlikely that any members of any parliament will put themselves out of a job in order to promote a federal Europe within which the obsolete layer most clearly visible in the hierarchy of governments is that at the 'nation state' level.

By the beginning of April, it was clear that President Chirac did not share this analysis. Prime Minister Raffarin formed a new government of the right and not of the left, albeit with a serious reshuffle of Ministers, some being replaced by new faces. President Chirac, on a television interview on 1 April, admitted that there were some serious elements to the protest and that some of the implementation of reforms had not been sensitively handled. He undertook that some of the worst effects on the poor would be reduced.

Indication of the results (first round)of the Regionals in the Minervois are shown on each commune's page together with a comparison of the Minervois average. The parties contesting the first round of the Regionals were :

• FN - the National Front, extreme right
• Languedoc-Catalogne - a regionalist party
• MNR - a right wing party
• LCR-LO - workers party, left wing
• CPNT - Chasse, Peche, Nature, Tradition : the party of the hunters, anglers
• Union Toute - an alliance of the PS (Socialists), PCF (Communist party), Verts (greens)
• Union LR-UMP - right wing party of Gaullists and others
• UDF - a right wing party
• Ecol.Citoy. - another green party

Indication of the first round results of the Cantonals in the Aude are given on each commune's page where I was able to obtain the information. The parties contesting the first round of the Cantonals were :

• FN - the National Front, extreme right
• Ecol - the Ecologist party (greens and allies of the left
• PC - the Communist Party
• UMP - right wing party
• PS - the socialist party

In the Minervois (second round), the left wing vote ("Union toute") headed 71 of the 72 communes. In Rieussec, it shared the lead with UMP. The left had 60.8% of the vote in the Minervois, compared with 54.4% in the Aude and 51.2% in the region. Thus it seems that the Minervois places itself slightly further to the left than the rest of the region.

Again in the second round, the communes with the highest vote for the left were :

• Trassanel (90%)
• Cassagnoles (85.4%)
• Castans (78.8%)
• Salsigne (76.7%)
• Villarzel (76.6%)
• Argens (76.5%)
• Cabrespine (72.2%)
• Montouliers (71.8%)
• Pepieux (71.3%)
• Peyriac (71.3%)

• Rieussec (48.9%)
• Aigne (41.5%)
• La Liviniere (41.2%)
• Salleles-Cabardes (40.6%)
• Olonzac (40.1%)