Lille municipal elections: Violette Spillebout, the "transpartisan" Macron supporter who wants to cause an upset against the left

With a strong presence both on the ground and on social media, the publication of two books, and even a rally this Saturday, March 7th, Violette Spillebout, candidate for mayor of Lille, is sparing no effort to achieve her goals. The Renaissance MP dreams of paving her way to the Lille city hall to end a Socialist hegemony that has never been interrupted under the Fifth Republic. Six years after finishing third in the second round, far behind Martine Aubry and the Greens, who were separated by only 227 votes, the fifty-something is convinced she can do better. "I think I'm not the same Violette Spillebout at all anymore. I have six years of experience as an opposition city councilor, I was elected MP in 2022 and re-elected in 2024," she told BFM, adding: "I am approaching this election as the only candidate with national experience, who knows Parliament, who is capable of representing Lille at the national and European levels."

"Transpartisan spirit"

Recently, Violette Spillebout distinguished herself during the parliamentary inquiry into the Bétharram affair, which implicated a figure in the presidential camp: François Bayrou, accused of lying about his knowledge of the violence committed at this private school.

Co-rapporteur with the left-wing MP Paul Vannier, the MP sees this partnership as proof of her "transpartisan spirit," a recurring theme in her speeches. "I am very careful about one thing: not to, or to stop, being a caricature of my political opponents in Lille. Citizens are fed up with mutual hatred and sectarianism," she told us at the end of July. The candidate puts her words into action, not hesitating to engage in dialogue with her opponents. Thus, she attended the summer school of La France Insoumise in August 2025 and the gathering organized by the Journal du Dimanche in November, in the presence of far-right figures, as noted by Libération. This "transpartisan" positioning has at least one advantage for the woman who was Martine Aubry's chief of staff between 2008 and 2012: it allows her to distance herself from the label of the presidential camp, which is not very advantageous. Lille.

In this sense, Violette Spillebout can boast of having demonstrated her independence: on September 8th, she was the only Renaissance MP not to vote in favor of François Bayrou in the National Assembly, deploring that he had "not had a word for the victims of violence" in the Bétharram affair, two days earlier on France 5. This decision earned her a summons before her group's governing bodies to explain herself.

"I am not someone who is easily impressed or influenced. I believe that to be mayor of Lille, you need someone who is strong and who doesn't act in politics out of fear, but out of conviction. That's what the people of Lille recognize in me," she emphasizes.

"People might ask themselves: 'But who is she really working for?'"

Has she found the right formula? Not so sure, according to Pierre Mathiot. "Violette Spillebout capitalized on her notoriety linked to the Bétharram affair, but this notoriety could also work against her locally because of her history with François Bayrou," emphasizes the political scientist, former director of Sciences Po Lille. "In other words, people might ask themselves: 'But who is she really working for?' Especially since she has strongly embraced the positions of her co-rapporteur, Paul Vannier, who is quite a radical."

Also, the Lille candidate's strategy of openness towards other parties seems to have recently backfired on her. At the end of January, Le Point reported that she would be prepared to offer deputy positions to members of La France Insoumise and the Rassemblement National if she became mayor—information also highlighted by Mediacité. In response, Ali Douffi, leader of Horizons in Lille, announced his departure from the municipal opposition group "Faire Respirer Lille," of which Violette Spillebout is the president. Her opponents are quick to seize upon this situation: "In no city has there ever been a governance that spans from the far right to the far left. This is impossible for one simple reason: unlike a commission of inquiry, it is based on a program, proposals, and from the outset, these proposals are entirely different," criticizes Socialist MP Roger Vicot. For her part, the MP denounces the affair as "blown out of proportion" and denies having considered these scenarios in this way. "No alliance, no tolerance with La France Insoumise and the National Rally. We are fighting them, we want them to be as low as possible," she insists, simply stating her commitment to ensuring that "opposition leaders can have a role in the City Council and a responsibility to oversee the majority in power." "It would take a perfect alignment of circumstances." relatively unlikely "

Beyond Violette Spillebout's strategy alone, and the question of whether it will prove successful or not, another issue is essential: what is this candidate's political space? In other words, can she win in a historical stronghold of the left, and more specifically of the Socialist Party?

An Ifop-Fiducial poll, published this Wednesday, March 4, gives an idea of the balance of power. Socialist Arnaud Deslandes – mayor since Martine Aubry handed over the reins a year ago – leads in voting intentions (28%), followed by Green Party candidate Stéphane Baly (20%) and La France Insoumise candidate Lahouaria Addouche (16%). Violette Spillebout (15%) is only fourth, ahead of Matthieu Valet (9%), a National Rally MEP, and Louis Delemer (7%), a candidate representing, among others, The Republicans party. This hasn't dampened her hopes. She hopes to capitalize on the various left-wing candidacies, betting on a split vote in the second round. A specific scenario could work in her favor. This scenario, which includes the Republicans (LR) joining her list between the two rounds, is a four-way race with the Greens, the Socialists, and La France Insoumise. Violette Spillebout shared this scenario on Tuesday on the social network X, based on a poll commissioned by Renaissance from Ipsos. She is slightly ahead, with 28% of voting intentions, two points ahead of Arnaud Deslandes. However, is this hypothesis really feasible? Roger Vicot doesn't believe it: "There's a tradition, but also a political logic, that dictates that in the second round, of course, the left should unite to find a majority," says the Socialist Party representative. "It would require a rather improbable alignment of circumstances," agrees Pierre Mathiot. Not only would such a four-way race imply that three left-wing lists would compete in the second round. But in addition, "the right and far right would have to be unable to maintain their positions by receiving less than 10% of the votes cast in the first round, and then there would have to be, not necessarily voting instructions in favor of Violette Spillebout, but at least a call to block the left," the political scientist notes.