Richard Ferrand has been President of the National Assembly since 2018. -

Lionel Urman / Sipa USA / SIPA

LREM President of the National Assembly, Richard Ferrand, said on Wednesday "wishing" for a postponement of the regional and departmental elections scheduled for March, believing that it will be impossible to campaign properly due to the Covid-19 epidemic.

During the municipal elections, the first round of which took place in March, in the midst of the epidemic, before a postponement of the second round at the end of June, “we said that since you can go and buy your baguette, you can therefore go and vote.

Certainly.

Except that an election is not only on polling day: it is an electoral campaign, door to door, public meetings, debates, ”argued Richard Ferrand on BFMTV and RMC.

But “all this is impossible today and will very likely be in the months to come.

So if we are willing to admit that the elections are not just voting day but a moment of democratic life, then it seems to me that wisdom should lead to the postponement of these elections ”.

He also stressed that when the recovery plan is implemented, "the executives in charge of local public investment would benefit from remaining stable" in order to be able to deploy it.

A meeting with the parties

Asked about a postponement, he replied: “I wish.

But he said he had "no religion" for the duration of this postponement, "we must discuss it."

President Emmanuel Macron "is in search of consensus to possibly decide" on a postponement and he "knows very well that the consensus will be silent" but that "there will be quarrels as soon as the decision is taken", he said. -it belongs.

"But everyone must be aware deep down" that because of the epidemic "we will not be able to hold this election as our democracy requires".

Government spokesman Gabriel Attal announced in mid-October that a commission bringing together “all political forces” would study a possible postponement of the departmental and regional elections scheduled for March.

The decision must be taken before the start of the official campaign, ie "at the end of the year, beginning of the year 2021", he specified.

This regional calendar could be discussed Wednesday afternoon during a meeting of political parties in Matignon on the Covid-19 epidemic.

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  • Departmental elections

  • Regional elections

  • Elections

  • Richard Ferrand