Among the 4,564 French people called to vote, some blamed the heat or the late arrival of the professions of faith.

Shortly before 8 a.m. (4:30 a.m. Paris time), a line of about fifteen voters waited, mostly elderly women.

Dressed in brightly colored saris, they waited to be able to enter to vote, French identity card in hand.

Under the Treaty of Cession of the territory of Pondicherry to India signed in 1962, some 7,000 Pondicherries have chosen to retain French nationality.

Called the "optants", with their descendants, they today make up the French community of Pondicherry.

French citizens prepare to vote on April 10, 2022 in Pondicherry, in the first round of the French presidential election Arun SANKAR AFP

A blue enamel plaque on the consulate compound, a few meters from the waters of the Bay of Bengal, reads in white letters: "Rue de la Marine".

On a wooden door of the building, a poster announces the presence of a polling station: "Presidential election 2022, entrance".

Voting "it's a duty and a right, it's us who decide who should be elected. If we don't vote, it's not a citizen", confidently told AFP Mohammed Idrisse, a soldier at the 68 years old retirement.

Prédibane Siva, 60, is surprised at the lack of attendance.

"Usually the population, my compatriots from Pondicherry, queue from half past seven. This is the first time that I see that there is no queue at all," said this elected member of the Assembly of French people living abroad.

A French citizen prepares to vote on Sunday April 10, 2022 in Pondicherry, in the first round of the French presidential election Arun SANKAR AFP

“There is always a high turnout, over 50 percent,” he says, blaming the hot weather that arrived prematurely in the region this year.

The president of the consular council of Pondicherry-Chennai, she rather denounces the late distribution of information relating to the presidential election.

According to Chantal Samuel-David, "the information arrived very late. Many people are absolutely unaware that there are elections".

French citizens prepare to vote on April 10, 2022 in Pondicherry, in the first round of the French presidential election Arun SANKAR AFP

But the French authorities in Pondicherry ensure that the information, through all authorized channels to reach voters, has been disseminated as it should.

© 2022 AFP