French elections: increase in the number of registered voters in Montreal

On the evening of June 9, President Emmanuel Macron took the French by surprise by calling early legislative elections, after his party suffered a setback in the European elections, to the benefit of the National Rally, a far-right party. In the wake of this announcement, French people in Montreal decided to hastily register on the electoral lists.

I noted a very strong mobilization for the national elections as soon as they were announced, confirms Marie Lapierre, Consul General of France in Montreal. On the one hand, we had thousands of people registering on the electoral list overnight. On the other hand, hundreds of French people offered their help to organize the vote while being aware of the short deadline.

In Montreal, 74,939 voters were registered during the European vote. The Consule estimates that this figure could rise to 77,000 for the legislative elections, for a diaspora estimated at 200,000 people. Remember that Montreal represents the largest electoral list outside the European continent.

The next day, we talked about it within the team, adds Anthony Plomion, a Frenchman who arrived in October and who works in a brewery in Rosemont. There are a lot of French people and most of us, even young people, wanted to find out about applying for a power of attorney. I think there’s going to be an electric shock.

At the Consulate General of France in Montreal, we confirm having received numerous requests for proxies, without being able to quantify them. The French government, which consolidates proxies at the national level, claims to have received 717,184 proxies in just one week. This is 6.3 times more than the same period during the 2022 legislative elections.

Awakening to the far right

If Anthony Plomion speaks electroshock this is in reference to the results of the European elections which allowed the National Rally to win a majority, with 30 of the 81 seats granted to France in the European Parliament.

Mr. Plomion, who has French and Italian nationality and votes in both countries, admits to being concerned about the rise of the far right in Europe.

years. The alarm was sounded several times but there was no awareness. The absenteeism, abandonment and resignation of a part of the voters encourage this divide. “,”text”:”It’s worrying because it’s not something new, said the 33-year-old man. The alarm was sounded several times but there was no awareness. The absenteeism, abandonment and resignation of a part of the voters encourage this divide. “}}”>It’s worrying because it’s not something new, says the 33-year-old. The alarm was sounded several times but there was no awareness. The absenteeism, abandonment and resignation of a part of the voters encourage this divide.

This divide will be all the more marked in the legislative elections, since there will mainly be 3 camps. The far right, with the National Rally, the center camp with Emmanuel Macron’s party, Ensemble pour la République and the left-wing coalition, the New Popular Front. Created a few days after the results of the European elections, the New Popular Front brings together the Socialist Party, La France insoumise, Europe Ecologie-Les Verts and the French Communist Party. These parties agreed on a program and distribution of constituencies in order to counter the far right.

Volunteer on an environmentalist list and living in Quebec for 3 years, Audrey Alliot, also notes here a certain awakening in the face of the extreme right.

There was a decomplexification of the discourse. Before, we didn’t say in public that we were homophobic. Some have democratized speech and everyone gives their public opinion, an opinion that is not always very well constructed. She is delighted to see a certain interest in these elections, because since the start of the legislative elections, Audrey Alliot regularly answers questions from French people living in Quebec on social networks. They ask how to vote, how to request a proxy or how to vote online.

Online voting could also be an accelerator of participation. In 2022, the first year of implementation of electronic voting, more than 70% of registered voters in Montreal had chosen this method, indicates consul Ms. Lapierre. We think this year it will be more .

“One of the most left-wing consuls”

If the National Rally came first in the European polls in France with more than 31%, it does not attract the French people of Montreal. The party only won a meager 5% of the votes, far behind the left. Indeed, 60% of French people in Montreal voted for one of the left-wing candidates, from La France Insoumise, Europe Écologie or Réveiller L’Europe.

As for the candidate supported by Emmanuel Macron’s party, she came in 4th position with 15.04% of the votes.

This is explained by the sociology of the French in Quebec , indicates Frédéric Mérand, director of the Department of Political Science at the University of Montreal. The results of the European elections do not surprise the political scientist. Montreal has always been one of the consuls that votes the most to the left […] French immigration to Quebec is quite young and highly educated. And highly educated young people in France also vote left.

However, not all French expatriates around the world have a homogeneous vote, he warns. For example, the French in Russia vote overwhelmingly for the extreme right while in Italy and Portugal, the conservative vote is more important .

The boxes were not put away

As soon as the European elections were over, the staff of the Consulate General of France in Montreal had to quickly organize the holding of two other elections, within a few days.

The boxes were not put away, everything was already ready, the ballot boxes and the voting booths , says Ms. Lapierre. Moreover, several volunteers will return to duty and as for the European elections, the 20 polling stations will be installed at the Center Mont-Royal, on Sherbrooke Street West.

French people registered in Montreal, who represent a little more than 30% of voters in North America, will vote to elect 1 of the 577 deputies of the National Assembly, representing the 1st constituency of French people established outside France.

A fairly unique electoral system in the world recalls Frédéric Mérand which allows the country to maintain a political link with its nationals . And that gives them real political weight, it’s not trivialhe concludes.

In Montreal, the first round of the legislative elections will be held on Saturday June 29, and the second round will take place a week later, on July 6.

In 2022, during the last legislative elections, 25.52% of registered voters voted in the 1st round and 27.26% in the 2nd round.