At the finals of the local elections in France, a heavy slump for the central camp of Head of State Emmanuel Macron emerged. The presidential party La Republique en Marche (LREM) is likely to fail with its original plan to conquer Paris and cause surprises in other cities. Just three years ago, the young party had won the majority of seats in the National Assembly from scratch.
Instead, Greens and allies from the left-wing camp faced successes in Lyon, Toulouse and Tours. So far, Grenoble is the only large city with a green mayor. The symbolic capital is likely to remain in the hands of socialist incumbent Anne Hidalgo and her allies. Paris is planning the Olympic Games in 2024.
Low turnout so far
The run-off elections were actually scheduled for late March, but had to be postponed due to the Covid 19 pandemic. In the first round in mid-March, well over half of the voters did not vote. Voter turnout this afternoon was 15.29 percent, which, according to the Interior Ministry, was more than four points less than in the 2014 vote.
