A Sherbrooke resident wants to represent one of the greatest riding in the world

French living in Quebec, like all expatriates abroad, are called to vote in legislative elections in France. Since 2012, they have been represented by representatives who have invested in 11 constituents located around the world. The 1^D very large scope: this includes Canada and the United States. Canada alone is 20 times the size of France. A huge geographical space for one person.

From Brittany, Yann Reminiac arrived in Sherbrooke almost a year ago on a student visa. Registered with the Center 24-June, she is currently completing secretarial training and working in the hotel industry every weekend. After his first stay in Quebec, a few years ago, he chose Sherbrooke, a place where he was already relatively at home, to experience North American adventure. It is somewhat similar to Rennes which is also a student city at the confluence of two rivers. The same is true here. It feels like just at home, but more mountains and more plants.

Before settling in Canton-de-l’Est, Yann Reminiac tried to be elected in the 2017 legislative election for the Breton Party. It was a second political formation campaigning for the Loire-Atlantique to reunite with Brittany and for the preservation of the Welsh and Breton languages, the candidate explained. Five years later, he tried again in the same political formation, but this time, more than 5000 km from his home country.

It’s a great adventure because I’m discovering so many things. Voting for a small party is also a way of censoring large parties that make a lot of promises.

Why deputies abroad?

During France’s constitutional reform in 2008, the French government, under President Nicolas Sarkozy, decided to give a more meaningful voice to expatriates who were former representatives of senators, said Jean-Pierre Beaud, Professor at the Department of Political Science inUQAM. He himself was a French immigrant who arrived in the 1970s, he explained that the creation of the Euro Zone, at the turn of the 2000s, greatly simplified the migration of workers.

” Seems normal to represent [ces gens] because they have specific problems. If they live, for example, in Austria, they want to have French schools. They want to have this and that. They wanted to return to France without losing some of the privileges they had before. “

Others may also be students like me, added candidate Yann Reminiac. They can go back to France and back and forth. So, in terms of visas or their return to France, this is to make things easier.

There are also people who have business here as well as in France. […] Sometimes, the bridges between the French administrations and the American or Canadian administrations are quite complex. There are things that can be improvedadded Mr. Reminiac.

In this vein, I think it is normal for North America to be represented as well, Professor Beaud believes. There are people who come to work in Montreal and leave. There is a migration of young people who have come here. Will they stay? It’s not easy, but they still feel French in many ways. I, after 45 years, the link is less important than before.

The enormous challenge of the electoral campaign

But how to campaign with more than 200,000 voters scattered across Canada and the United States? It’s hard because you can’t meet people and go door-to-door like we do in Quebec or France. […] I put myself in the place of an unknown candidate, what can he do? Imagine without the Internet, it is impossiblesaid Jean-Pierre Beaud.

Sharing his message is really the only way Sherbrooke candidate Yann Reminiac needs to persuade French voters to vote for him. He is also not known by one of his most serious opponents, outgoing MP Roland Lescure, former number 2 of the Caisse de depot et placement du Québec. The latter left his position as chief investment officer to enter politics with Emmanuel Macron’s group in 2017 and was elected deputy of 1^D subject to the French people outside France.

” He knows many people. He already has a network of influence. […] Of course, he was better known than I was. It will be hard, but I am a very positive person. “

The Breton Party candidate may show little confidence, but he has little chance, Jean-Pierre Beaud believes. Lescure’s bonus is to say: listen, you know [le président Emmanuel] Macron. He was re -elected and I was working with him. I am on the Finance Committee. I do my job and believe me, I’m serious.

Yann Reminiac knows full well that his chances of winning the vote are slim, but he sees his candidacy as a way to identify himself. He wants to rally a certain number of voters even if his party has no elected members of the National Assembly. Many people are undecided and they can vote blank. Instead of voting white, vote for the Breton Party!

To encourage voters to participate in the ballot, the French government introduced electronic voting, a privilege reserved only for expatriates. Voters can also vote in person in Montreal or Ottawa on June 4 or 18, while two rounds of legislative elections in France will take place on June 12 and 19.

If Yann Reminiac were ever elected, he would almost have to end his life in Sherbrooke. He will have to sit alongside 576 other National Assembly representatives to defend the interests of his constituents in Canada and the United States.

This candidate from Sherbrooke, I’m not saying he’ll spend all his time there, but he needs to have, like all MPs, a residence. It should sit to a minimum because we are counting. If he is never in the Assembly, in five years, we will say to him “listen, we saw you here in Sherbrooke, that’s good, but did you defend our things in Paris?”said Jean-Pierre Beaud.

If he came to Sherbrooke alone, Yann Reminiac could be torn apart if he became a member of 1^D occupied by the French outside France, because he found love in Quebec. Now it’s the two of us. I met my little darling from Quebec. Her name is Anne. Who will take Annie will take the country and who will take Brittany will take Yannhe said with a wide smile.