Vive la France! Woman flying to Paris to vote
A FRENCH-BORN resident from Ormskirk is preparing to fly to Paris in order to vote for President Emmanuel Macron in the upcoming French elections.
Juliet Laurent, 55, who was born in Bordeaux but grew up in Paris, moved to the UK in 2008 and for over 14 years has called Ormskirk home.
However, this year she will be travelling back to France so she can vote in April’s presidential election in person. The election will be held on April 10, with the possibility of it running through to April 24 if there is no clear winner in the first round.
Speaking about why she wanted to fly over 500 miles to vote, Mrs Laurent said: “I understand that I can cast my vote for Macron in the election while living in Britain, but this election is a special one.
“We may be on the verge of re-electing a President for the first time in 20 years, after Jacques Chirac, and I want to be on French soil when it happens.
“I have everything planned for my journey, and I want this to be an historic moment.”
Under French law, citizens who live abroad can vote directly at a polling station in an embassy located within their local authority. In order to cast your vote and be eligible to do so, you must be a French citizen, be 18 or over before the election date, and be enrolled on an official electoral register.
Last week, President Macron announced his candidacy for a second consecutive term and has launched his liberal, centrist ‘Republic on The Move’ re-election campaign.
The latest opinion polls put him ahead of other declared presidential candidates at 30 per cent, with his closest rival the far-right National Rally candidate Marine Le Pen on 18pc. He was first elected in the 2017 election, defeating Ms Le Pen by 20 million to 10 million votes.
In doing so, he became the youngest elected President of France at the age of 39, and the youngest head of state since Napoleon Bonaparte.
Mrs Laurent said: “As I have both French and British citizenship and live in the UK, I usually vote online during the national legislative elections in France, but because this presidential race is so important, I want to physically cast my vote for Monsieur Macron.
“I support Emmanuel Macron because he doesn’t just believe in France, he believes in Europe and he really wants to become a major player in continental European politics.” She added: “He cares deeply about the French people, and his patriotism makes me feel proud – that’s why he is getting my support for another term.”
In France, presidential elections occur every five years and are conducted using a two-round voting system. This method is used to elect a single candidate, in which the electorate votes for their political candidate of choice, but if no one receives more than 50pc of the total votes cast, a runoff vote will follow to determine the winner.
French political analyst and commentator Renard Coudary said: “This election will be a landslide victory for Macron because there is no other solid alternative to him.
“The right-wing vote is fractured between his nemesis Marine Le Pen, the conservative’s
Valerie Pecresse and France’s answer to Donald Trump, the TV pundit turned politician Eric Zemmour.
“I believe that Macron will face off against Le Pen again in the second round, and that he will win more votes this time.”