Peut-on se passer d'Hatem BEN ARFA ?

From the opening hour, fans said France could live without Hatem Ben Arfa. Non opened at 79% and never once fell behind — the widest gap of the entire 69-day run, set before a single day passed.

The margin eroded but never cracked: a steady bleed to 75% by day 4, 69% by day 22, 66% by day 35, settling at 64% for the final month. Oui gained ground the whole way and still finished 28 points short, 3,406 to 1,903.

• Day-one landslide · Non opened at 79%, its peak lead of the whole poll.
• No lead change · Non led wire-to-wire across all 69 days, zero flips.
• Slow erosion, no comeback · Non's edge shrank from 79% to 64% but held to the end.
• Lopsided male turnout · Voters were overwhelmingly male, 229 men to just 28 women.