Low turnout in French election adds to uncertainty
Participation in the first round of the French presidential vote stood at 65 percent at 5pm on Sunday, the interior ministry said, down sharply from the same point in the 2017 election.
Analysts have forecast that turnout for the vote, in which President Emmanuel Macron is seeking a second five-year term, could be the lowest since 2002, injecting a high level of uncertainty into the race.
You can follow all the latest results on our live blog HERE.
Mid-afternoon turnout was down 4.4 percentage points from 2017, when Macron upended the French political landscape by knocking out traditional parties on the left and right with an ambitious reformist platform.
He advanced to the run-off against Marine Le Pen, the far-right leader who is again forecast by polls to qualify for the second round this year, and who has seen a sharp jump in opinion polls over the past week.
But turnout at this stage was well above the 58.5 percent of April 21st, 2002, when Marine's father, Jean-Marie Le Pen, disproved polls by squeezing past the Socialist prime minister Lionel Jospin to advance to the second round against incumbent president Jacques Chirac.
Chirac went on to win re-election in a crushing defeat of Le Pen, just as Macron beat out Marine Le Pen in the 2017 run-off with 66 percent of the votes to her 34 percent.
Polls suggest a repeat of the Macron-Le Pen contest would be much closer this year.
Some 48.7 million voters are registered for the election, to be followed by the run-off on April 24th.
Comments
See Also
Analysts have forecast that turnout for the vote, in which President Emmanuel Macron is seeking a second five-year term, could be the lowest since 2002, injecting a high level of uncertainty into the race.
You can follow all the latest results on our live blog HERE.
Mid-afternoon turnout was down 4.4 percentage points from 2017, when Macron upended the French political landscape by knocking out traditional parties on the left and right with an ambitious reformist platform.
He advanced to the run-off against Marine Le Pen, the far-right leader who is again forecast by polls to qualify for the second round this year, and who has seen a sharp jump in opinion polls over the past week.
But turnout at this stage was well above the 58.5 percent of April 21st, 2002, when Marine's father, Jean-Marie Le Pen, disproved polls by squeezing past the Socialist prime minister Lionel Jospin to advance to the second round against incumbent president Jacques Chirac.
Chirac went on to win re-election in a crushing defeat of Le Pen, just as Macron beat out Marine Le Pen in the 2017 run-off with 66 percent of the votes to her 34 percent.
Polls suggest a repeat of the Macron-Le Pen contest would be much closer this year.
Some 48.7 million voters are registered for the election, to be followed by the run-off on April 24th.
Join the conversation in our comments section below. Share your own views and experience and if you have a question or suggestion for our journalists then email us at [email protected].
Please keep comments civil, constructive and on topic – and make sure to read our terms of use before getting involved.
Please log in here to leave a comment.