Frenchman’s fury that he can’t go to the polls in Wales
AFrenchman living in Wales will have to travel for around two hours across the border to cast his vote in the upcoming French election.
Philippe Minchin will have to travel more than 80 miles to a Bristol hotel in order to vote in the presidential election on May 7 as there are no polling booths in Wales.
Originally from the western suburbs of Paris, Mr Minchin labelled the lack of facilities as a “disgrace” and even offered his shed as a suitable place for fellow citizens to vote.
Mr Minchin, 38, from Swansea, said: “I’m outraged that we don’t have one. I’m very disappointed – it is a matter of equality, fairness and principle.
“You would think that there would be at least one in Wales, let alone one in Cardiff. All that we want is one in Wales.”
Eligible voters will chose between centrist technocrat Emmanuel Macron and right-wing populist Marine Le Pen in the run-off for the French presidency, in what many see as a bellwether for European politics.
He added: “This election is seismic really – not just for the future of France but for the future of Europe.
“Given the fact that it’s going to be so close too, the thought that some people could be put off from voting is terrible.”
Mr Minchin said he would offer his garden shed as a voting booth and volunteered to man the site himself.
The PR and media manager said: “I have to get on a train or a bus, or get in a car, and travel to Bristol and then come back again. I just don’t think it’s good enough.”
Mr Minchin said that he has written to both candidates asking if they would consider placing a voting station in Wales if elected.
A French Embassy spokesman said: “Unfortunately there aren’t enough French people living in Wales so it is not possible to open a polling station in Cardiff.”
According to the 2011 census there are more than 2,000 French people living in Wales.
The spokesman said French people living in Wales can travel to Bristol or Birmingham, where there are polling stations.
He added: “In most countries around the world French people have to travel to the capital to be able to vote, which is not the case in the UK where there are 10 polling stations outside of London.
“There is a total of 42 polling stations in London, nearly twice as many as five years ago, and polling stations in 10 other UK cities.”
French voters who are not able to travel to Bristol or Birmingham can also vote via proxy.