Will the French vote by proxy on Sunday for the first round of the presidential election? In an interview at Parisian performed on ThursdayEmmanuel Macron made the “observation” that “there have never been so many proxies made”.
Asked about the possibility of a “five-year term in the street” and about abstention, the outgoing president mentioned a “democratic fatigue” which he does not see as a “fatality”, in particular because of this number of proxies .
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How many proxies were registered for this election? Thursday, the day Emmanuel Macron gave this interview, 1.3 million (1,320,438 precisely) had been registered, specifies the Ministry of the Interior to 20 minutes. This is 320,000 more than Tuesday, when the million mark was crossed.
Is it better than in previous presidential elections? For 2012, the Ministry of the Interior tells us that it does not have the number of proxies that were made for the first round. In 2017, 1.6 million proxies were issued for the first round, according to INSEE. It is 300,000 more, therefore, than the figure recorded this Thursday by the Ministry of the Interior. But voters still have time to have their power of attorney drawn up. How many will be doing it this Friday and Saturday? There is no deadline to establish one, recalls the government site mypower of attorneyeven if it seems adventurous to wait until Sunday morning.
Since this year, voters have been able to register their power of attorney on this site, before going to have it validated at a police station or gendarmerie. The person who will vote for you, your proxy, does not need to be present during this validation.
You can also establish a power of attorney by going directly to a police station or gendarmerie. You will then have to fill out a form and come with your identity document, your voter number and that of your proxy. This number can be found on your voter card or online. Your proxy does not need to be present. A power of attorney can be valid for up to a year, which can save you from redoing the process for the legislative elections, scheduled for June 12 and 19.
Why did Emmanuel Macron rejoice at the number of proxies? According to the INSEE survey on proxy voting in 2017, young people (18-29 years old) are the age group that requires the most. The demand for power of attorney also increases “with the level of diploma”, note the two authors of the study.
In the first round in 2017, the one who was then a candidate for En Marche had been at the top of the votes with a baccalaureate level + 2 or more, according to a survey of Ipsos established in the three days preceding the first round. He came third among 18-24 year olds, behind Jean-Luc Mélenchon and Marine Le Pen, and first among 25-34 year olds.