Sunday at midday, the turnout stood at 12.22% in metropolitan France, down four points from the regional elections of December 2015, according to figures from the Ministry of the Interior.
The abstention record for a first round of regional could be broken at the end of this voting day.
Turnout in the first round of regional and departmental elections stood at 12.22% Sunday at midday in mainland France, four points less than the regional elections of December 2015 (16.27%) and more than five points less than the departmental ones of March 2015 (17.97%), according to figures from the Ministry of the Interior.
This weak mobilization confirms the fears of a massive abstention during this double ballot placed ten months before the presidential election.
The abstention record could be broken at the end of the day
The abstention record (53.67%) for a first round of the regional dates back to 2010, when the midday turnout was 16.07%.
This record therefore has a good chance of being broken during this last electoral meeting before the presidential election in ten months.
As six years ago, the largest stake was recorded in Corsica: 22.50%.
Next come Occitanie, 14.84%, Provence-Alpes-Côte-d'Azur (14.46%) and Bourgogne-Franche-Comté (13.87%).
On the other hand, it is in Ile-de-France, as in 2015, that participation is lowest at noon: 8.47%.
The participation rate is also low in the Grand Est (10.33%) and in Brittany (11.47%).
Some 48 million French people are called to the polls to elect their regional and departmental advisers for the next six years.