The high number of abstentions in the first round demonstrated the growing concern of the French, stated Edouard Philippe.
French Prime Minister Edouard Philippe, amid the spread of coronavirus in the country, intends to raise early next week the issue of the feasibility of a second round of municipal elections, scheduled for March 22.
“At the beginning of the week, I will convene a scientific council to decide whether or not to hold a second round of municipal elections”, – he said on Sunday, speaking in the city of Le Havre after the polls closed as part of the first round of municipal elections. In his speech, which was broadcast on his Twitter page, he noted that “the high number of abstentions demonstrates the growing anxiety of the French” with regard to the spread of coronavirus.
A number of prominent French politicians demanded that the second round of elections be abandoned on Sunday evening. This, in particular, insisted on the leader of the “National Union” Marin Le Pen, the current mayor of Paris, a representative of the socialists Anne Hidalgo, the leader of the French environmentalists Yannick Jadot. The leader of the left-wing movement “Disobedient France” Jean-Luc Melanchon stands for this too.
The first round of municipal elections in France by 17:00 showed a turnout of 38.77%. Such results were reported by the Ministry of Internal Affairs on its Twitter page. In 2014, the figure for the first round of municipal elections at this time was 54.77%, while for the 2008 elections – 56.25%. Commenting on what is happening on BFM, Bernard Sananes, director of the French Institute for Social Studies Elabe, called the 16% decline “very large”.
According to the data of the General Directorate of Public Health of France, 127 people died from the disease caused by the new coronavirus of the kind in the country on Sunday evening. There are 5423 people infected, 400 of whom are in serious condition.