Franco-Montrealers vote in “historic” elections amid rise of the far right
Large numbers of French nationals are expected to travel to Montreal on Saturday for the first round of French legislative elections, driven to the polls by the threat of a rising far-right party and its allies leading in polls at home. Quebec has 260,000 French citizens, 200,000 of whom live in Montreal. They constitute the largest population of French people outside mainland France and more than a quarter of registered voters in North America, according to the French government. French President Emmanuel Macron, left, meets with a resident, Tuesday, June 18, 2024, on the island of Sein, Brittany. The snap legislative elections on June 30 and July 7 were triggered by Emmanuel Macron’s decision last Sunday to dissolve the National Assembly, the lower house of the French parliament, after his centrist party suffered a crushing defeat to the National Rally in the European Parliament elections. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP-Christophe Ena The French electoral system allows citizens living abroad, in 11 different constituencies, to each elect one member of the National Assembly, which has 577 seats. The French in Montreal belong to the same constituency as French people living in the United States, the Turks and Caicos Islands, the Cayman Islands and Bermuda. On Saturday, they will have to choose between nine candidates, from French President Emmanuel Macron’s Renaissance party to the anti-immigrant National Rally, which is poised to win the most seats. The story continues below the advertisement Marie Lapierre, consul general of France in Montreal, estimates that the participation rate in the city in these elections will be double that of 2022. 2:03 France prepares for early elections after Macron’s defeat in European elections “During the last legislative elections in 2022, we recorded a participation of around 25% of voters. This time we have prepared for more… we are ready to accommodate around 50% participation,” she said. Latest news from Canada and around the world sent to your email address, in this case. “There was a very strong mobilization of the French community who were really ready to help us organize the vote,” said Mr. Lapierre. Yan Niesing, president of the Union française de Montréal, an organization that helps French nationals settle in the city, called the election “historic.” “Everyone wants to have a say,” he said. Frédéric Mérand, a professor of political science at the Montreal Centre for International Studies at the University of Montreal, said the level of engagement in the city is unusual for a French election. Story continues below advertisement 2:42 ‘Europe could die’: Macron calls for stronger defenses and presence on the global stage “We see signs, posters and people distributing leaflets in the streets of Montreal for an election taking place in France, so it is significant in that sense,” he said. These elections constitute an exceptional moment in French political history. Macron called early elections earlier this month after his party’s crushing defeat by the far right in European Parliament elections. The first round, which takes place on Saturday, could see the country form the first far-right government since the Nazi occupation of World War II, or see no majority emerge at all. The outcome of the vote, after the second round of July 7 and an exceptionally brief campaign, remains very uncertain as three large political blocs clash: the far-right National Rally, Macron’s centrist alliance and the coalition of New Popular Front which includes the center-left, the greens and far-left forces. Mérand says the main contenders with Montreal voters are the centrist and left-wing parties. The story continues below the advertisement 2:05 Macron suspends New Caledonia voting reform amid unrest Fashionable now Flight cancellations rise as WestJet mechanics hit picket lines The Canadian team buys air conditioners for athletes at the Paris Olympics. For what ? “All the other candidates are expected to be very, very far behind,” he said. In 2022, a left-wing alliance won the prize among French-speaking voters in Montreal. Macron’s party came in second with 25% of the vote from the city’s French-speaking residents, and the National Rally received 2%. However, thanks to votes from Americans and elsewhere in the district, Macron’s candidate won the seat. Chedly Belkhodja, a professor at Concordia University’s School of Public and Community Affairs, attributes the rise in voter interest to a historic competition in polarized French society. “This election will perhaps show a side of France that has not been seen for many, many years, namely the rise of the far right,” he said, adding that parties that were once on the fringes of politics have become more normalized and common in recent years. The story continues below the advertisement One candidate Franco-Montrealers can choose from is Washington-based Olivier Piton, who is a member of Les Républicains, the center-right party to which former President Nicolas Sarkozy belonged. Mr. Piton says he is best placed to represent his constituents in North America, whose concerns differ from those of French citizens on the continent. “Now we have to focus on what is really important to us… how can we defend our rights as French nationals, as residents of Canada or the United States,” he said. Elias Forneris, Une Nouvelle Energie pour la France candidate, also resides in the American capital and has spent much of his life in the United States and the United Kingdom. With little time to prepare for Macron’s announcement to dissolve Parliament, he focused most of his campaign on the Internet. “I think there is something that unites French people living in Canada and the United States. It’s common for us to be forgotten by the State in France even though we are citizens just like them, so what I would like to do is be able to represent the voice of the French here,” he said. -he declares. . 2:01 “We must defend freedom”: French demonstrators demonstrate against the far right in Paris Previous video Next video The story continues below the advertisement © 2024 The Canadian Press Source link