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A vote first postponed – due to the epidemic due to the coronavirus -, then uncertain, and finally confirmed: voters are indeed called to the polls, Sunday, June 28, for the second round of municipal elections in 4,820 municipalities , almost three and a half months after the first.
More than 157,000 candidates and 16.5 million voters are affected by this extraordinary ballot, held under enhanced health protection with the wearing of a mandatory mask at polling stations, hydroalcoholic gel and priority for vulnerable people to vote.
A vote first postponed – due to the epidemic due to the coronavirus -, then uncertain, and finally confirmed: voters are indeed called to the polls, Sunday, June 28, for the second round of municipal elections in 4,820 municipalities , almost three and a half months after the first.
Participation is 4.5 points lower at noon than that of the second round of municipal elections in 2014 (19.83%), and more than 8 points compared to 2008 (23.68%). The risk of massive abstention is one of the main issues in the poll, while less than one in two voters – 44.3%, compared to 63.5% in 2014 – had moved to vote on March 15 in because of the risk of coronavirus contamination.
The departments that had voted the most at noon were Corse du Sud (32.03%), Cantal (28.92%), Allier (28.13%), Lozère (27.73%) and Landes (27.35%). The departments that mobilized the least are Seine-Saint-Denis (7.34%), Ille-et-Vilaine (8.18%), Paris (8.34%), Hauts-de-Seine (8.96%) and Val d’Oise (9.66%).
In addition, voters in the three highly populated departments of Bouches-du-Rhône (15.99%), Rhône (16.69%) and Nord (13.74%) moved in near-average proportions national.
This second round is organized with exceptional health precautions due to the Covid-19 epidemic: wearing of a mandatory mask at polling stations, hydroalcoholic gel and priority for vulnerable people to vote.
Suspense in some big cities
The suspense is strong in some of the largest cities – Lyon, Marseille, Toulouse, Montpellier, Strasbourg, Lille … -, mainly under the pressure of environmentalists. In Le Havre, Prime Minister Édouard Philippe – who voted at 8:15 am – partly plays his future in Matignon.
In Paris, it will necessarily be a woman who will be elected mayor of the capital. Three candidates are indeed qualified for the second round: Anne Hidalgo for the Socialist Party, Rachida Dati for the Republicans, and Agnès Buzyn for LaRem.
Three candidates who voted in the morning, relates our special correspondent in the Parisian polling stations, Valérie Gas. Anne Hidalgo was the most early. She voted to open her office in the 11th arrondissement. Agnès Buzyn for her part voted a little later in the 17th arrondissement where she is at the top of the list. As for Rachida Dati, she was the last to go and do her duty. Released from her obligations in the 7th district where the voters decided in the first round and re-elected her, she went to vote in the 11th district for this second round because she was the holder of a proxy.
Voting in the capital is organized in a slightly special way. As in Lyon and Marseille where the election takes place over three rounds. Voters vote for lists in the boroughs. Depending on its demographic weight, each arrondissement sends more or less elected officials to the Paris Council. In all, there are 163 councilors from Paris and it is they who will proceed, by the end of next week, to the official election of the mayor of Paris.
The article Second round of Municipalities: the French at the polls in 4,820 municipalities first appeared on Snap221.info.
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