PARIS (Dispatches) – Turnout by midday in the second round of French regional elections was 12.66%, only slightly up on last week’s record low of 12.22%, the interior ministry said on Sunday.
Voters in France went to the polls in the second round of regional elections on Sunday after a first round that saw a drubbing for President Emmanuel Macron’s ruling party, disappointment for Marine Le Pen’s far right and record low turnout.
For some observers, the outcome of the first round on June 20 raised doubts over whether the 2022 presidential election would come down to a duel between Macron and Le Pen in a runoff long seen as the most likely scenario.
The first-round results marked a boost for the traditional right-wing Republicans as well as the Socialist Party, who have been squeezed after the centrist Macron surged into power in 2017 with his new Republic on the Move (LREM) party.
There was cross-party concern over the turnout for last week’s polls, which were shunned by 66.72 percent of voters – a record in modern France.
The woeful turnout prompted a debate over how to improve participation.
According to a poll published on Thursday, just 36 percent of voters plan to cast their ballots on Sunday.
The first-round results put Le Pen’s National Rally (RN) ahead in just one region, PACA, a major disappointment after polls showed a possible breakthrough in several areas.