China News Service, Paris, June 20 (Reporter Li Yang) The first round of voting for the 2021 regional and provincial assembly elections in France will be held on the 20th local time.
As this election is regarded as the "weathervane" of the French presidential election in 2022, it has attracted the attention of politicians.
French President Macron participated in the voting in Le Touquet, a town in the Pas-de-Calais province in northern France. He briefly exchanged views with voters after the vote.
The leader of the French far-right party, Marina Le Pen, the leader of the far-left party, Melanchon, and the president of the Paris region parliament who is seeking re-election, Pecres, have all participated in the vote.
The turnout rate for this vote may hit a record low.
According to data from the French Ministry of the Interior, as of 5 p.m. local time on the 20th (11 p.m. Beijing time on the 20th), the turnout rate was only 26.72%, which was far lower than the turnout rate during the same period of the 2015 election.
According to the forecast data of BFM TV station, the abstention rate in the election may reach 68.5%, which is significantly higher than the 50% in the 2015 election.
Since it is still in the period of the new crown epidemic, polling stations have adopted strict epidemic prevention measures.
Polls show that the far-right party "National League" led by Le Pen will take the lead in the first round of voting in some regions and provinces.
However, in previous elections, centrist and left-wing voters generally tried to choose to jointly block candidates from far-right parties in the second round of voting.
The election results are still full of uncertainty.
The responsibilities of the French Regional Council include the management of transportation, schools, etc., and provide support for the local economic and social development.
The jurisdiction of the French Provincial Assembly includes matters such as social welfare, water resource utilization, and fire protection.
The French regional councils and provincial councils generally do not participate in the management of security affairs.
The first round of voting for the 2021 regional and provincial assembly elections in France was originally scheduled to be held in March, but it was postponed twice due to the new crown epidemic.
The second round of voting will be held on the 27th of this month.
Elections for the regional and provincial assemblies of France are held every 6 years.
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