First round of French regional elections to take place today
Citizens of France and its overseas territories will head to the polls today to elect their regional and departmental leaders.
Low voter turnout, expected at 46% of eligible voters, will strongly influence the election results. Therefore, parties whose candidate lists manage to gain 10% of the vote will participate in the second round of these elections slated for June 27.
France will hold its presidential election in April 2022. Regional elections often act as bellwethers for the race to the highest office. The primary competition today will be between French President Macron’s centrist La Republique En Marche! (LREM) and Marine Le Pen’s far-right National Rally (NR) parties. Neither party has won a regional presidency to date, so a win in today’s elections would be a boon moving into the 2022 election.
France’s southern Provence-Alpes-Cote D’Azur region, which supports the National Rally’s anti-immigration platform, will be the key region to watch for a National Rally win. Historically the President’s party has fared poorly in the regional elections, meaning an LREM regional presidency win is unlikely. However, a National Rally regional win would further launch the far-right into mainstream politics and give Marine Le Pen considerable credibility in the 2022 election.
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