This Friday, November 14, in the early evening, the tile room of the Maison des Associations in Pontonx-sur-l’Adour, a rural Landes town of 3,000 inhabitants located a few kilometers north of Dax, suddenly filled up. At the back of the room, volunteers added a row of black plastic chairs at the last minute. “We will not be able to break down the wall,” joked one of them while counting the 60 people who rushed into the room. Minutes earlier, the small group had been worried that no one would be there. Only a handful of residents filled out the online registration form. In the end, it was the ancient collage on the city walls that did the trick. Yellow line with black background: “Fake news: DANGER!”
Leading the night was the Republican Rural Front, FRER to those in the know. The association that was born in Landes at the beginning of this year was the result of months of discussions between residents who had had enough, according to their leaflet. “Look at the extreme right and divisive rhetoric starting to grow.” Farmers, craftsmen, athletes, students, retirees, registered, unregistered… The youngest is 17 years old, the oldest is almost 80 years old. Most of them had never met him before, but they all saw him right away.
