Paul Guigue, an entrepreneur from the French Alps, twice voted for Emmanuel Macron's party but now plans to cast his ballot for the far-right National Rally in protest at the French president's liberal economic policies.
The 72-year-old was among the inhabitants of Annecy, known for its pristine lake and picturesque Alpine scenery, who helped RN prevail in the Haute-Savoie region in a historic win at European elections this month.
Macron's centrist party is now struggling to preserve its seats in the two-round parliamentary election on June 30 and July 7 in Haute-Savoie, which borders Switzerland and relies on tourism, agriculture and industries such as metallurgy.
"I'm going to cast a protest vote against Macron," said Guigue, who said he had voted for conservative parties for most of his life.
"We pay lots of taxes but don't get anything in return ... And I'm worried for the children growing up because we will leave them with huge debts."
Residents of Haute-Savoie have traditionally voted for ring-wing parties but without swaying towards the far-right. The trend persisted until 2017, when candidates from Macron's party won seats in four of the region's six constituencies. In 2022, they won three seats.
Antoine Armand, running for re-election in Haute-Savoie's second constituency for Macron's Renaissance party, said voters wanted to "punish" Macron over low salaries, the cost of living and security.
"It's often daily issues that have not been resolved for years and, after a while, people give in and vote for an extreme party," he told Reuters at a bustling market in Annecy, sometimes known as the Little Venice of the Alps.
Macron's party struggles to hold conservative heartland
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