France is heading into the second round of voting in local elections - on Sunday, March 22nd - in many areas the race is looking very tight - meaning that every vote counts.
But if you're not able to go to the polling booth on the day, you can appoint someone to vote for you.
Eligible
First, you need to be eligible to vote; aged 18 or over on the date of the first round and either a) a French citizen or b) a citizen of an EU nation resident in France.
Only French nationals can vote in presidential and parliamentary elections, but EU nationals resident in France can vote in local elections (municipales) and European elections.
You also need to be on the electoral roll - if you have previously voted you should be on the roll and if you have recently become French you should be added automatically - here's how to check.
Your proxy
The person you choose as your proxy must also be eligible to vote in France and be on the electoral roll.
They do not have to be registered in the same commune as you, but they will have to travel to your local polling booth to cast your vote for you, so it's best to choose someone who lives locally.
Two rounds
French elections take place over two rounds, with voters going to the polls twice - in this case on Sunday, March 15th and then again on Sunday, March 22nd.
You can have a proxy for both rounds or just one, there is no obligation to have voted in round one in order to vote in round two, either for you or your proxy.
Deadline
Technically, there is no deadline to arrange a proxy, and it can be done right up to polling day - however your application will need to be processed either online or in person at the local police station, so the advice is to set one up as early as possible.
You can either set one up for a single election or for a set period of time.
How to arrange it
There is an online option, but it can only be used with France Identité, which is only available to French citizens who have the new style French ID card.
There is also an online service called Ma Procuration which you can use to make the initial request (you can only login via France Connect, so you will need to set that up first if you haven't already) - find it here.
Once you have made the request, you will get an email confirmation and then have to go in person with your ID to your local police station.
Finally, you can download here and print out the form requesting a proxy, and then go in person to your local police station with your ID. Police stations should also have paper copies of the form available.
Whichever option you choose, you will need to provide the following information;
Full name, date of birth and voter ID number (numéro national d'électeur) for both you and your proxy - your voter ID number can be found on your polling card, or here.
What about postal voting?
France does not allow postal voting. French citizens living overseas can vote at their local French consulate or embassy, or set up a proxy.
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