Polynesia and the French residing abroad, some of whom have already been able to vote online, are expected to go to the polls this weekend for the first round of legislative elections, Saturday for the American continent and the Caribbean, and Sunday for the rest of the world. In mainland France, the first and second rounds will take place on June 12 and 19. The results of the 11 constituencies of French people living abroad should be known overnight from Sunday to Monday, with particular attention to the 5th constituency (Spain, Portugal, Andorra and Monaco) where former Prime Minister Manuel Valls is running as the colors of the presidential majority.
Foreign residents who so wished already had the option of voting by Internet, from May 27 to June 1, with a series of technical hiccups and reviews, or by mail. In the offices set up in consulates and embassies, the second round will take place on Saturday 18 and Sunday 19 June, the day of the second round in mainland France. In 2017, the macronists and their allies had won ten constituencies, losing in that of the UDI Meyer Habib, including in particular Italy, Greece, Turkey and Israel. In the second round of the 2022 presidential election, Emmanuel Macron largely won in these constituencies.
On the overseas side, only French Polynesia also votes this Saturday for the first round of legislative elections, before a second round on June 18. The nearly 206,500 voters in French Polynesia will begin voting on Saturday at 8 a.m. (8 p.m. in Paris), in order to allow the delivery, between the two rounds, of the electoral material in the five Polynesian archipelagos, scattered over such a large area. than Europe in the southern Pacific Ocean. “The delivery of electoral material cannot be done if the time between the two rounds is less than fifteen days, due to the geographical constraints of French Polynesia”, declared Cédric Bouet, director of cabinet of the high commissioner of the Republic to explain this peculiarity.
Not all atolls and islands have an airstrip. This is the case, for example, of one of the most isolated islands in the world, Rapa, in the Austral archipelago. Or the Tematangi and Hereheretue atolls, in the Tuamotus. The electoral material is dropped there at sea by a Gardian aircraft of the French Navy, then recovered by the municipal services. Twenty-seven candidates are running in the three constituencies of French Polynesia.
