Abstinence is considered the “great unknown” for them elections. Already, the first signs of participation are not very encouraging.
At 12 noon (France time) the turnout was 25.48%, three points lower than the corresponding percentage in the first round of 2017. And according to detailed data for the various departments of the country, Paris and the surrounding area have turnout rates less than 20% (Paris 15.34%).
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The fear of the final percentages of abstention is great, because it is considered that it will bring big upheavals.
The French do not forget the traumatic experience of 2002 when the abstention had reached the historical record of 28.4% with consequences, the promotion of the far right Jean-Marie Le Pen, father of Marine Le Pen, in the second round and resignation from the political arena of the then favorite Socialist Prime Minister Lionel Jospin.
The repeated statements of Bryce Tentier, head of the Ipsos Institute, that the current abstention could reach 28%, are of particular concern.
That is why the candidates’ speeches to the voters, to move to vote, dominated the speeches of the candidates.
It is characteristic that the patients with coronavirus were also allowed to vote with the necessary precautions, of course. Otherwise the mask is optional.
Fear of abstention has apparently led to some unprecedented initiatives, such as the one reported by the newspaper Le Parisien about the owner of a real estate agency in Burgundy who promised 100 euros to his employees to motivate them to vote, 50 euros in the first and 50 in the second.
There are also those who preferred to express themselves in an artistic way and print original posters of the candidates outside the polling stations.
Marin Lepen, for example, is presented with a scarf, Eric Zemour as an Arab Salafist, Valerie Pecres with a gay man.
The first estimates for Results will be given at 8 pm, French time.
Olympia Tsipira, Paris
Deutsche Welle
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