Paris, France.- Some 70,000 polling stations open in France on Sunday to host the first round of municipal elections with extraordinary measures to prevent the contagion of the coronavirus that is advancing in the country. Nearly 48 million voters are called to elect mayors of 35,000 municipalities for the next six years, a poll that is developing in a particular environment, with the country more aware of the epidemic than the polls.
A few hours after the Government announced the closure of any non-essential public establishment, polling stations are quick to welcome citizens, with an eye to the participation rate, to clear the unknown of whether fear of contagion will influence abstention. In recent hours, voices have multiplied asking the Executive to delay the election appointment in these circumstances. This is the case of the president of the Occitania region, the socialist Carole Delga, who after the prime minister, Odouard Philippe, announced the closure of bars, restaurants, nightclubs, cinemas and non-essential shops called for the postponed elections.” In light of the prime minister’s latest statements and growing public unease, I think it would be the wisest thing to do would be to delay municipal elections,” he said on the social network Twitter.The number 2 of the conservative Republicans party in the Senate, he considered for his part that “having maintained these municipal elections in these conditions is an aberration.” The government raised the election delay last Thursday, shortly before President Emmanuel Macron addressed the nation in a televised speech. But the leaders of the main parties were adamantly opposed and even assured that doing so would amount to an institutional coup. This is the case of Los Republicans President Christian Jacob, who said Macron intended to delay the polls to hide the setback that polls augur for his party in municipal ones. Against this backshot, the Executive said that the scientific committee advising him to deal with the coronavirus crisis assured them that the ballot box appointment would not be an additional extension factor for the epidemic. The impact is, they said, similar to that in a supermarket, an establishment that also remains open, provided that certain exceptional measures are taken. Thus, polling stations will have hand-washing gels, a person dedicated to cleaning, signs on the ground to keep the distance between voters, and messages remembering that contacts between citizens must be avoided.
Preventive measures against coronavirus/EFE/EPA/GUILLAUME HORCAJUELO
Polling station presidents will need to prioritize elders and frail people to cast their vote, to prevent them from remaining in the queues for a long time. The Ministry of the Interior will publish participation data throughout the day until 20.00 hours (19.00 GMT), when all tables close and counting will begin. Polls augur a good outcome for environmentalists, stability for conservatives and socialists, a moderate rise of the far right and a bad outcome for Macron’s party.But, more than in absolute terms, the elections will be measured with the focus on symbolic victories or defeats, in the big cities, which will not be known until next Sunday’s second round. If the forecasts are met, Paris will be in socialist hands and Marseille will be held by the conservatives and Macron’s party aspires to win Lyon.
The prime minister himself is playing his future as the head of the “macronists” list in Le Havre, as do other ministers in other cities of the country. The far right can achieve in Perpignan the largest city in its history and environmentalists dream of conquering a city as important as Bordeaux.
