Government spokesman Gabriel Attal said Wednesday he was “in favor of electronic voting” to fight against abstention which reached a record level this Sunday during the first round of regional elections.
“I am in favor of electronic voting”, indicated Gabriel Attal on BFMTV and RMC, inviting people to “be very open” and “to have a real cross-party discussion with all political parties” to find solutions to this democratic breakdown. .
Consular elections as a final revelation
“From the presidential campaign, Emmanuel Macron was committed to these issues, but every time we make proposals since the start of this five-year term, the oppositions, they block, they want to vote as we voted there is 100 years, ”he denounced. According to final figures released Tuesday by the Interior Ministry, 66.72% of voters abstained from voting on Sunday in the first round of regional elections, a record for an election since the start of the Fifth Republic.
On electronic voting, “what may have finished convincing me”, explained, Gabriel Attal, are “a few weeks ago the consular elections” of French people abroad. “For the first time, they did it with an electronic vote, it went well, there was no particular challenge,” pleaded Gabriel Attal.
In place from 2022?
The Secretary of State for European Affairs Clément Beaune, also in favor of electronic voting, suggested on France Inter to examine this track before the presidential election of 2022. “I am in favor of looking at this track. Let’s open this debate. When we have 70% of abstention, we cannot afford the luxury of closing tracks, ”he said, recalling that“ there are great democracies where it works ”.
“If we don’t do this by the presidential election, if we don’t look at this option, we would be wrong. It’s part of our toolbox, ”he added. The government will launch a “flash on social networks” communication campaign to encourage people to vote Sunday in the second round of regional and departmental elections, Marlène Schiappa also announced on Wednesday.