Can French politicians inspire the masses to come out and vote?
Polling stations have opened in France for the second round of regional elections on Sunday. The traditional right-wing party and the Socialists have made some gains so far, while President Emmanuel Macron's ruling centrist party is lagging behind. But the real challenge for the parties is abstention.
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France's 13 mainland regions from Brittany in the northwest to the (PACA) region in the southeast are going to the polls again, but the key concern is turnout, after a 66 percent abstention rate in the first round.
"What we are seeing is the culmination of a disconnection between voters and the political class," said Jessica Sainty, politics lecturer at Avignon University, while acknowledging the Covid-19 crisis also played a role in high abstention rate.
The low turnout has prompted a debate over how to improve participation, with several figures including government spokesman Gabriel Attal suggesting electronic voting could help in future.
According to a poll published Thursday, just 36 percent of voters plan to cast their ballots on Sunday. "France is sulking," the Le Parisien newspaper said.
Far-right gains less than expected
The first-round results marked a boost for the traditional right-wing The Republicans as well as the Socialist Party, which is expecting to pick up some regions, partly due to support from the far-left France Unbowed party.
Marine Le Pen's far-right National Rally (RN) only came out ahead in the southeastern Provence-Alpes-Cote d'Azur (PACA) region, a major disappointment after polls showed a possible breakthrough in several areas.
One of the most closely watched races on Sunday will be whether RN candidate Thierry Mariani can defeat his right-wing rival Renaud Muselier in the region.
Gaining control here for the first time would be a huge boost for Le Pen as she seeks to convince voters that the RN -- which she has reformed and rebranded since taking over from her firebrand father Jean-Marie -- is a serious party of power.
Muselier could be helped by the withdrawal of left-wing candidates in a repeat of the "Republican Front" seen in past presidential elections to block the far-right.
Mariani has been accused by critics of being an admirer of authoritarians like Russian President Vladimir Putin and Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad. Prime Minister Jean Castex warned last week that a Mariani victory would be "very serious" for the country.
Conservatives not shaken
The RN also came up short in the Ile-de-France region that includes Paris, where its 25-year-old rising star Jordan Bardella failed to trouble right-wing incumbent Valerie Pecresse, who is now expected to easily win the second round.
Meanwhile, despite sending several ministers to campaign and Macron himself embarking on a nationwide tour -- that saw him slapped by an onlooker at one point -- in some regions LREM did not muster the required 10 percent to make round two.
LREM has almost no chance of winning control of a single region and is currently just number five among political parties in France.
Analysts says that although LREM lacks a local presence, this did not prevent them from winning presidential and legislative elections in 2017.
Voting began at 8:00 am (0600 GMT) on Sunday, with the last polling stations due to close 12 hours later.
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