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French apathy sky-high just two weeks before presidential vote

Sunday, 27 March 2022 12:32 AM [ Last Update: Sunday, 27 March 2022 12:32 AM ]

Ramin Mazaheri
Press TV, Paris

France goes to the polls in just two weeks, in an election marked by major disinterest and discontent over a lack of discussion on worsening domestic issues.

Abstention is expected to reach 30%. The last time so few voters turned out was 2002, when the far-right National Front shockingly made it to the second round. Many wonder if during this election the surging left may stage a similar surprise, with Jean-Luc Melenchon now approaching the far-right’s Marine Le Pen in the battle to make it past the first round.

The so-called “Bourgeois Bloc” of voters is highly-motivated to win re-election for Emmanuel Macron, so he seems certain to make it to the final round. He has avoided debates and public appearances, preferring to focus on Ukraine, as his tenure has been marked by a record number of corruption scandals, economic inequality and unprecedented political repression.

In 2017 the two mainstream political parties, dogged by corruption scandals, were ousted for the first time since Charles de Gaulle; in 2012 optimism was sky high that Francois Hollande was going to end austerity and stand up to Berlin and Brussels.

But in this election, France, a rare Western country known for high levels of political engagement, appears exhausted by politics. A vast and intimidating police presence at demonstrations won’t encourage political gatherings either.

Unions have just pulled out their big gun: an “unlimited” strike for Paris public transport. That strike has confusingly been stopped after just one day, perhaps showing that France remains in a state of confusion even so close to the election.

France has only just ended coronavirus restrictions, and the lack of political interest shows that they haven’t really gotten back to normal. Western polls have been notoriously inaccurate, however, and sky high inflation may play the crucial factor when voters think about the next 5 years.

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