Low turnout likely as France goes back to the polls after lockdown
● President under pressure as party fields its first local election candidates
France held the second round of municipal elections in 5,000 towns and cities yesterday which were postponed due to the coronavirus outbreak, amid lingering worries about the pandemic and anger at how French president Emmanuel Macron’s government handled it.
Wearing mandatory masks, social distancing in lines and carrying their own pens to sign registers, French voters cast ballots to choose the mayor who will lead Paris through the 2024 summer Olympics and to fill local offices in thousands of other places.
Poll organisers were wearing masks and gloves for protection, and in some places they were separated from voters by transparent plastic shields. Postal voting is not allowed in France.
The voting was suspended after the first round of the nationwide municipal elections on 15 March, which produced decisive outcomes in 30,000 other mostly small communes.
Mr Macron’s critics say he shouldn’t have allowed the first round to go ahead at all, since it was held as infections were exploding across Europe – and just two days before France introduced sweeping nationwide lockdown measures.
While virus fears clouded the first round, some voters appeared more confident this time around.
“I didn’t go and vote the first time around because I am an elderly person and I got scared,” said Fanny Barouh, voting in a Paris school yesterday.
“I’ve always voted, so I came to vote this morning and I feel more relaxed now.”
The spread of the coronavirus has slowed significantly in France in recent weeks and almost all restrictions on social and business activity have been gradually lifted over the last month.
France has reported nearly 200,000 confirmed cases and 29,781 deaths in the pandemic, but experts believe all reported figures are undercounts due to limited testing and missed mild cases.
But the virus was still expected to hurt turnout, as it did in March. Only 34 per cent of voters had cast ballots by 5pm. In the first round, a record low of 44.7 per cent of voters turned out for the whole day.
The elections, though ostensibly focused on local concerns, are also seen as a key political indicator ahead of the 2022 French presidential election.
Mr Macron had said he wasn’t considering the elections as a pro- or anti-government vote. Yet a government reshuffle is expected in the coming weeks, as he seeks a political boost amid the economic difficulties prompted by the Covid-19 crisis.
French authorities have faced criticism during the pandemic over mask shortages, testing capacity and for going ahead with the first round of elections instead of imposing a lockdown earlier.
Recent opinion polls show Mr Macron’s popularity rating is hovering around 40 per cent – higher than before the virus outbreak.
The main battleground is Paris, where the mayor is an influential figure in French politics and will oversee the 2024 summer Olympics. Current mayor Annie Hidalgo, a Socialist Party member, finished in March with a strong lead ahead of conservative candidate Rachida Dati.
Mr Macron’s three-yearold centrist party is fielding municipal candidates for the first time, but still lacks local roots across France. The party, Republic on the Move, doesn’t have candidates in every race and in some instances is backing candidates from the left or the right instead.
It has set a modest goal of 10,000 municipal councillors across France and has already acknowledged not being in the race in many big cities.
French prime minister Edouard Philippe is running for mayor in his hometown of Le Havre.