French Socialists face local vote amid record unpopularity

[FarCenter]

France is voting Sunday in a first round of local elections with the ruling Socialists battling record low approval and the main opposition UMP hit by scandal, setting the stage for a possible strong showing for the far-right National Front.

The first nationwide vote since President François Hollande's 2012 election takes place with the ruling Socialists dogged by a weak economy and the centre-right UMP mired in scandals embroiling former president Nicolas Sarkozy.

Recent polls have suggested that around one in four voters are considering casting their votes for the National Front, in what could be a breakthrough election for the anti-immigration, anti-EU party led by Marine Le Pen.

Paris is also set to elect its first female mayor, with Socialist candidate Anne Hidalgo, the daughter of Spanish immigrants, the favourite to succeed her current boss, Mayor Bertrand Delanoë. But it promises to be a close race against Sarkozy's former environment minister, Nathalie Kosciuscko-Morizet, with last-minute polls indicating the battle for the capital is far from a foregone conclusion.

Voter turnout, which is expected to hit record lows due to widespread disenchantment with the mainstream parties, was at 23% at midday, the interior ministry said. Participation rates are officially tallied at noon and at 5pm on election days in France.

Just under a million people (nearly one in 60 of the population) will stand as candidates in an election that will produce over 36,000 new mayors for municipalities ranging from the tiniest of agricultural hamlets to metropolises like Lyon, Marseille and Paris.

http://www.france24.com/en/20140323-france-votes-local-elections-paris-mayor-hollande/

[LuvNewcastle]

1. Nearly a million candidates? What a confusing election!

I know they have more parties than we do, but that's a hell of a mess to sort through. It probably makes people's heads hurt just thinking about that election.

[FarCenter]

2. The US has 89,476 municipalities according to the US Census

It would be reasonable to expect that we have 2 candidates for each of 6 offices in each municipality on average, which would be a million candidates in a general election.

[LuvNewcastle]

6. It's just that most of us don't elect every single

official we have in one election. It would take too long to vote, and we have enough trouble with people waiting hours to vote as it is. On the other hand, I can see the benefit in doing it that way. So many people don't vote in off-year elections, and it would be good to have as many as people as possible for all the elections. I suppose if they sped up the voting process when we get to the polls, we could probably do it that way. It would benefit Democrats.

[mylye2222]

3. news

According to média now there is a rumor the local rw made a fraud in the city of Marseille. A key city for national pondit

[TheKentuckian]

4. Pro austerity, pro bank socialists don't build their brand very well. Such is predictable.

[mylye2222]

5. you are right

They betrayed us. I voted for more left today.