With a record abstention estimated between 53.5% and 56%, the French deserted the polling stations this Sunday during the 1st round of extraordinary municipal elections, organized as best they could in a country shut down by the coronavirus pandemic.
Among the some 47.7 million voters called to elect their mayor, only less than half will have finally slipped a ballot in the ballot box, in a general surreal atmosphere after the government decreed on Saturday evening the closure of all "Places receiving the public not essential to the life of the country".
Will there be a second round?
A historic figure for a generally mobilizing ballot among the French, despite a slow erosion from one mandate to another: in 2014, abstention had been 36.45% in the first round, 33.46% in 2008 and 32.6% in 2001. A strong question now weighs on the holding of the second round, next Sunday, in a country where the epidemic (91 dead Saturday evening) is still in its infancy, according to all specialists.
While the results of the big cities (Paris, Lyon, Marseille…) which concentrate the political stakes are expected later in the evening, eyes are turned to Le Havre, stronghold of Edouard Philippe, where it is according to an estimate on waiver with 43% of the vote by the communist Jean-Paul Lecoq (34%).
Edouard Philippe under pressure
The Prime Minister, who was elected in the 1st round in 2014, is under the threat of a broad coalition in front of him: will his adversary manage to capitalize on the sanction vote to attract the votes of the environmentalist Alexis Deck (9%) and Rassemblement national Frédéric Groussard candidate (8%), who should not be able to apply for the second round? Beaten, his position at Matignon would in any case become untenable.
More generally, Edouard Philippe is under intense pressure after having chosen to maintain this first round despite the health context which does not spare the political class, like the president of the Republicans Christian Jacob, tested positive for coronavirus on Sunday.
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A decision challenged Saturday evening by several elected officials, while uncertainty also hangs over the holding of the second round in view of the spread of the epidemic. According to the constitutionalist Didier Maus, questioned by AFP, a postponement of the second round would lead to cancel the result of the first round, and would force voters to vote for the two rounds.
Municipal
2020 municipal election results: Find all the results city by city on our interactive map
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- Abstention