Many of those standing for La République En Marche party in the legislative elections have never run for elected office

Caroline Janvier introduced herself to shoppers in the small Saturday market at La Chapelle-Saint-Mesmin, a small commune on the banks of the river Loire, while her supporters handed out election leaflets. “Hello, I’m your En Marche candidate for the legislatives,” she told them. She smiled. They smiled.

Many of those buying plants, fruit and dried sausages had no clue who she was, but most agreed that this was not necessarily a bad thing. Nearly all wished her well, even those who admitted they would not vote for her.

Janvier is one of President Emmanuel Macron’s amateur army of would-be parliamentarians. Just one week from the first round of the French legislative elections she, and more than 200 ordinary people like her, are hoping voters will take a leap of faith and send them to the national assembly, even if they do not yet know their names.

Retired school administrator Annie Desfroux, 67, thinks Janvier and the other La République En Marche (La REM) “novices”, as the party calls them – nurses, doctors, lawyers, a mathematician, a former bullfighter among others – are most definitely a good thing. “It’s a complete change of political faces,” she said. “It’s nice to see someone new and not the same old people who have been around for 30 years.”

Desfroux, a lifelong Socialist party (PS) supporter, told Janvier she had her vote. “It’s a worry that they have no experience, but we will just have to have confidence in them and hope they can make the changes the country needs,” she told the Observer.

On the fringe of the market, more canvassers for different candidates turned up to hand out their leaflets. Most, whatever their political loyalty, also agreed that the new president’s idea of “renewing” the French political landscape was positive.

“The problem in France is we have the same MPs and senators for years who are completely disconnected from ordinary people and reality. It’s a good idea to have some new faces,” said Ameziane Cherfouh, 50, who was leafleting for Jean-Philippe Grand, the left and ecology parties’ candidate. He added quickly: “Of course, we also need experienced people to help them along.”

Franck Jourdin, 47, a nursery school teacher, said he would not be voting for Janvier, but said some new politicians would be “a breath of fresh air”. Christophe Perrot, 51, selling cured sausages on his market stall, said he would be supporting the green candidate but agreed: “It’s the political renewal we should have had years ago. It will do French politics good.” A nurse returning from her night shift in the local hospital said she voted PS, but hoped Macron would keep his promise to make overtime tax-free.

Even Grand, Janvier’s rival, offered qualified support to the idea of “renewal” if it meant getting rid of the current MP, Serge Grouard from the conservative Les Républicains party, who is seeking his fourth mandate. Grand added that his experience as a regional councillor for 18 years made him a better choice for the seat than Janvier. “She has never been in politics before. She doesn’t know how to engage her adversaries, and that is important,” he said.

Caroline Janvier, En Marche candidate for the Loiret: ‘There’s a real sense things are changing.’ Photograph: @CarolineJanvier

Janvier, a graduate of the elite Sciences Po university, says the reaction on the ground to her candidacy has been mostly positive. She has put her job with an association for the homeless, disabled and vulnerable children on hold. Her husband, an agricultural adviser, is looking after their three children, aged seven, five and two.

“People seem pleased to see women, mothers of families like me, people who have the same lives and concerns they do and who haven’t been in politics before. I’ve had the odd low comment along the lines of ‘shouldn’t you be at home looking after the children’, but mostly the response has been good. There’s a real sense things are changing.”

Janvier’s Loiret constituency, south of Paris, covers some of historic Orléans and is part urban, part agricultural. In the presidential election, the Front National’s Marine Le Pen narrowly beat Macron in the first round with 23.53% of the vote, losing in the second when Macron polled 63.16%.

Local issues include some of those affecting much of rural France: unemployment, the lack of medical and social provision, public transport, and the lack of mobile phone coverage and high-speed internet. “It’s the first time I’ve engaged in politics and it’s because I engaged with Emmanuel Macron’s project,” said Janvier. “Yes, people wonder if we would be strong enough to challenge the government, push through their projects and voice their demands, because we have no experience, but we really want to make change happen. We may not yet have parliamentary skills, but we are keen and energetic.”

France traditionally follows a presidential election by giving the victor a workable parliamentary majority. The alternative – a period of forced “cohabitation”, with rivals inevitably blocking reforms – would bring stagnation, the last thing France needs right now.

La REM has candidates in 526 seats – out of a total of 577 – of which 266 are women. More than half the candidates, whose average age is 46, have never previously held elected office. An opinion poll by Ipsos for Le Monde on Friday suggested La REM could gain a large majority of between 395 and 425 seats out of the 577.

Political scientist Dominique Reynié, director of the thinktank Fondapol and a professor at Sciences Po, says being surrounded by novices – only four of Macron’s ministers have previous government experience – means Macron will be forced to rely on a civil service populated by fellow graduates of the elite Ecole Nationale d’Administration, known as “Enarques”. That could lead to Macron being an authoritarian “hyper-president”, he suggested.

“I’ve never seen an administration so presidentialised,” Reynié told the Anglo American Press Association. “It’s an almost authoritarian structure, though I’m not suggesting it’s intentional or even a philosophy … But with so many novices around him, he’ll be relying on the state machine, which has Enarques everywhere.

Back in La Chapelle-Saint-Mesmin, as the market winds up and the rain begins, the rival canvassers stand chatting together, clutching leaflets of new and not so new faces. “May the best man win,” said one as he left.

Janvier hopes she will win the two-round vote on 11 and 18 June. Then everyone will recognise her.