It is a little past 10 a.m. in office no.5 of the Jean-Moulin high school in Forbach. Julien Aranda, 44, and his wife Valérie come out masked, their hands covered with hydroalcoholic gel: “All the sanitary conditions were met. We were able to vote safely. If we were to catch the virus, it would not be here, ”say these forties, reassured. On March 15, for the first time in their lives, they had given up on their electoral duty: “It was a heartbreak. We discussed it a lot. But we found that there were far too many inconsistencies in the government’s discourse with the closure of schools on the one hand and the fact that we were urged to vote on the other. So we abstained and looking back, we say we did well. The conditions had nothing to do with today, where we are heading towards a return to normal life, while being cautious. “
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31% participation at 10 a.m.
This physical education teacher and his wife are obviously not the only ones to be back at the polls. Guy Kuhnen, the president of this polling station, which is always full, is quite amazed by the figures he has just consulted: “At 12:30 pm, I recorded a rebound of four to five points compared to March 15. I am at 22% participation. »The deputy mayor at the City of Forbach for a few more days also notes a very strong use of proxies:« Over the whole city, we went from 120 in the 1st round to more than 300. »At 80 km from there, at Les Basses-Terres kindergarten in Thionville, office 14 records a participation rate was also up at 11:30 am: 16.25% against 15.38% in March. With also the return of abstainers from the 1st round. Bounces that are not found in the Moselle prefecture figures published at noon and showing a very slight drop in participation to 18.13%, against 18.63%
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” The day and the night “
In Forbach, as in Thionville, the two polling stations visited encountered no problems. Throughout the morning, their presidents had each had to make only one call to order concerning the compulsory wearing of a mask. Guy Kuhnen finds voters much calmer: “The conditions have nothing to do with it. On March 15, I was in pain. I was convinced that we were on the brink of disaster. There, it is day and night. The two polling stations, normally in the same room, are in two different rooms. We have set up a traffic direction so that nobody crosses. There are no more than three people at the same time in the office . I do the police to avoid gatherings. The pens are disinfected after each contact and thrown away at the 20th use. We do not touch identity and voter cards. “Same perception in Thionville:” We now have money experience in health management and awareness has taken place for the population. The protocol is much more elaborate and the voters much more understanding. ”
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