Jean Castex, April 1, 2021 at the Shareholders’ Meeting. – Jacques Witt / SIPA
Will the 2021 regional and departmental regions be shaken up again by the Covid-19? Jean Castex announced this Thursday that the government favors “at this stage” the maintenance of these elections in June, if the sanitary conditions can be respected without “altering the free and secure expression of the vote of our fellow citizens”.
Before the Senate, the Prime Minister recalled having received Monday a “particularly balanced opinion” of the Scientific Council, which “does not explicitly recommend a postponement of the elections”, during a speech returning to the restrictive measures pronounced the day before by Emmanuel Macron. “It is therefore clearly the scenario of their maintenance that we favor at this stage,” he assured. These elections have already been postponed from March to June due to the health crisis.
An effect on the countryside
According to the head of government, the measures announced the day before by Emmanuel Macron to curb the third wave and the acceleration of vaccination “should have the effect of improving the health situation by the end of June”. But Jean Castex warned that “the Scientific Council made specific recommendations as to the conditions for the organization and holding of these elections” and recalled that the new restrictions announced the day before “could have an effect on the progress of the campaign” .
“We therefore have a duty to ensure that all of these conditions can be effectively met and that their very concrete implementation will not alter the free and secure expression of the vote of our fellow citizens”, explained the head of the government. He reiterated before the senators his desire, announced in the morning to the National Assembly, to organize a debate in Parliament, after consulting the political parties, on the possibility of maintaining these polls on June 13 and 20.
Consultation
It will thus initiate “without delay a consultation of the political parties represented in Parliament (…) and associations of local elected representatives”. Once this round table has been completed, “the decision will be rendered by the government next week,” government spokesman Gabriel Attal said on BFMTV.
And in the process “a debate based on article 50-1 of the Constitution will be organized in Parliament”, indicated the Prime Minister. At this stage, almost all political parties have said they are in favor of maintaining the polls in June. “I am in favor of our democracy being able to continue to live as normally as possible and therefore obviously, if we can maintain them, I am in favor,” said Gabriel Attal on Thursday.