Paris (AFP)
A further postponement of the second round of the municipal elections was mentioned during the videoconference Thursday between Edouard Philippe and the presidents of political parties, heads of parliamentary groups and associations of elected officials, according to several AFP participants.
Another postponement of the second round, originally scheduled for March 22 and already postponed to June due to the coronavirus epidemic, was raised at the meeting, but the head of government "did not give a date", according to these same sources.
"We will wait until May for a decision to be made," UDI president Jean-Christophe Lagarde told AFP. PCF national secretary Fabien Roussel reported that a postponement had been "mentioned" but that the decision on the date was "referred to the report which will be submitted on May 23" by scientific experts on the inventory of the epidemic.
According to the Figaro, President Emmanuel Macron would have mentioned during the Council of Ministers on Wednesday the possibility of postponing the municipal elections to October. Such a decision could involve postponing also the senatorial elections scheduled for September.
According to Mr. Roussel, the Minister of the Interior Christophe Castaner, who also participated in this meeting with other ministers, "confirmed the holding of the municipal councils of the lists elected in the first round, which may meet before the decision the postponement of the elections be (taken) ".
Government spokeswoman Sibeth Ndiaye said on March 17 that the second round would be held "ideally on June 21" but that the decision on the date would not be taken until May on the basis of expertise in the development of the coronavirus crisis.
The meeting around Edouard Philippe, which started at 9:30 am, was still in progress.
The Prime Minister has held three rounds of talks with political leaders since the start of the coronavirus crisis: February 27, March 12 and March 16.
© 2020 AFP