Emmanuel Macron and wife Brigitte arrive to vote in local elections as French president’s party faces mid-term wipeout in major cities
- President Macron and wife Brigitte cast their vote in Le Touquet, France, today
- Macron’s party faces prospect of not winning a single big city in local elections
- French voters are expected to be drawn to other parties in a mid-term wipeout
French President Emmanuel Macron and his wife Brigitte smiled as they arrived to cast their vote in the local mayoral elections today despite fears of a mid-term wipeout.
The couple, donning face masks, joined thousands of voters across the country turning out to cast their ballot in a delayed second round of local elections.
Macron and his wife walked hand-in-hand out of the city hall polling station in Le Touquet, France, after casting their vote in what could be a damaging election for the President.
President Emmanuel Macron and his wife Brigitte arrive to vote for the second round of mayoral elections in Le Touquet, France
The vote is a mid-term test for Macron and his party, which could fail to win a single big city.
A year ago he had hoped the municipal elections would help anchor his young centrist party in towns and cities, including Paris, ahead of an anticipated 2022 re-election bid.
But more recently presidential aides have been playing down predictions as the party looks set to be rocked by heavy losses today.
The 35,000 mayors in France set policy on issues from urban planning to education and the environment and, while local factors typically drive voter choices, they give the electorate an opportunity to support or punish a president mid-mandate.
The couple wore masks as they entered to cast their votes as polling stations in Paris saw clerks wearing masks or face shields
Voter Naouel, from Paris’ 9th district said she was planning to back the centre-right opposition candidate because the government is ‘completely disconnected from reality’.
The country pressed ahead with the first round of the municipal elections in mid-March, less than 48 hours before Macron imposed one of Europe’s strictest coronavirus lockdowns, forcing a long delay before the second round.
It is possible the pandemic could still depress turnout as figures show, as of midday, it was at 15.3%, well below the 19.8% registered at the same time in 2014.
In the Paris polling stations clerks wore masks or face shields, with some sat behind plexiglass screens.
Pensioner Jean de Nathan said: ‘It’s better organised than last time.’
In the capital, the election’s biggest prize, the sitting socialist mayor Anne Hidalgo is on track for a comfortable win after a shambolic campaign by Macron and his La Republique en Marche (LaRem) party.
Macron and party La Republique en Marche are predicted to be rocked by heavy losses in the election today
And Paris is unlikely to be the only disappointment for Macron, with other cities predicted to turn towards voting for opposing parties.
The Greens could to do well in cities such as Lyon, Marseille and Bordeaux, sometimes in alliance with the Left, building on momentum they created in 2019’s European elections.
In Perpignan, Marine Le Pen’s far-right party may take control of its first city with a population of more than 100,000.
A government reshuffle is widely expected after Macron said he would ‘reinvent’ his presidency and present a detailed plan next month for the final two years of his mandate.
The biggest question mark is over the future of Edouard Philippe, Macron’s popular prime minister, who is running for his old job as mayor of Le Havre.