Elections in France, open seats for the approximately 48.8 million voters called to elect the new President. The voting operations, which end at 7 p.m. tonight (but the big cities will be an exception, where voters can voice their choice on the future president until 8 p.m. These include Paris, Lyon, Bordeaux, Strasbourg, Nice, Marseille ), they were brought forward due to a time zone issue in overseas territories. Among the French living abroad, those residing in Shanghai cannot vote due to the restrictions decided as part of China’s antiCovid strategy. The election system has two rounds, with a Sunday vote between the two mostelected upandcoming presidents scheduled for April 24 if neither contestant secured a majority of votes in the first round.
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The outcome of the vote that will decide the name of the Elysée’s next tenant has become more uncertain as the days go by and the series of polls that have revealed a narrowing of the gap between the two favorite candidates, outgoing President Emmanuel Macron and the Rassemblement National candidate, Marine Le Pen, also in the screenings for the second round, scheduled for April 24th. Without excluding a “surprise Mélenchon”, third for voting intentions given the first ballot and given a high percentage of draws and the risk of strong abstentions. According to a calculation by the Odoxa Institute for Le Figaro, 27.4% of the French could choose not to vote in the first round of the presidential elections. At 28.4% in 2002, this is almost the highest figure ever recorded in the previous presidential election. Since then, after a spike in turnout in 2007, voter turnout has continued to rise until it reaches 22.2% in 2017.
The election campaign was anomalous, with the political debate taking a backseat to the Covid emergency before being overwhelmed and dominated by the war in Ukraine. After hesitating until the last moment to officially take the field to face criticism from his opponents for his considerable absence, the presidential candidate returned to the attack on the eve of the vote. With a single large rally at the Défense Arena in Nanterre, calling for a “general mobilization against “Extreme, and with an interview with the regional press targeting Marion Maréchal, “heir to a clan, who was present at the presidential elections since the 1960s”.
With that, Macron hit two opponents at once: Marine Le Pen’s Rassemblement National but not the niece, who had chosen to support her rival and Eric Zemmour, the controversial polemicist. “We have a tandem in action,” said Macron, closing the gap between the two farright candidates. (continues)
The previous presidential elections, held on April 23 and May 7, 2017, sanctioned the victory of Emmanuel Macron, candidate of La République En Marche, who defeated Marine Le Pen, supported by the Front National, in the vote. According to the polls, April 24th could therefore lead to a repeat of the 2017 duel, in which Macron then won with 66.10% of the votes against Le Pen with 33.90. The presidential elections will be followed, as usual, by parliamentary elections on June 12 and 19 to allocate the 577 seats in the National Assembly.
People who have tested positive for Covid19 can also vote. Voters going to polling stations are not required to enter any entry requirements, whether it be a vaccination test, a certificate of recovery or a virologic test. The use of the mask is strongly recommended for contact cases, the elderly, the immunocompromised, as well as those who have tested positive and are isolated who will vote.