French regional elections results following lowest turnout
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The French La République En Marche party leads the first round of the French regional elections nationwide, with an absentation rate of 66-68%.
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FFrench President Emmanuel Macron casting his vote in the first round of the French regional elections on June 20, 2021/credit: AFP.
The voter turnout in the first round of the French regional elections, which took place Sunday, was at a record low.
The French La République En Marche party won the first round of the regional elections, with a record-high absentation rate of 66-68%, meaning that the turnout rate was no higher than 34%.
According to multiple estimates, the center-right Les Republicains party is ahead of the National Rally, the left, and the ruling La Republique En Marche party.
Results indicated that the center-right will get 27.2-29.3% of the votes, the lists headed by the socialist party will get 16.5-17.6% of the votes, the far-right National Rally will get 19.1-19.3% of the votes, and La Republique En Marche will get around 10-11% of the votes.
The founder of La France Insoumise called for the formation of a "commission of inquiry into the circumstances in which the vote took place in the first round of the regional elections, which is full of imbalances."
French Minister of Interior Gerald Darmanin considered the low voter turnout 'alarming'.
The polling stations opened June 20 their doors for the elections, which were postponed for 3 months due to the pandemic, and are being held on a proportional basis in two rounds, the second of which being on June 27.
Some 48 million voters were called to choose the members of France's 15 regional councils, for a six-year term.
The powers of the district councils include issues that directly affect citizens, such as public transportation, university colleges, secondary schools, and land management.
It seems that the Marine Le Pen-led National Rally, who ran in the second round of the 2017 presidential elections, is making progress, especially that absentation is in the interest of the far-right, while the Macron-led La Republique En Marche, which still lacks a substantial base on the regional level, does not appear to be in a strong position.
The National Rally will likely lead the results of the first round in 6 regions, and 51% of the French believe that the victory of the National Rally in regions will not constitute a "threat to democracy."
This would alarm Emmanuel Macron, who already faces stiff competition in polls from Marine Le Pen, who faced him in the second round of the 2017 elections, even if he has not yet officially announced that he is running for a second term.
