- Title: France to hold second round of municipal elections after lockdown delay
- Date: 27th June 2020
- Summary: PARIS, FRANCE, (JUNE 26, 2020) (REUTERS) (SOUNDBITE) (French), RETIREE CHRISTIAN COURTOT SAYING: "We'll be careful. We can always bring our own pen, wear a mask and use alcohol gel. There aren't many people going into the voting precinct at the same time. It's not a problem for me at all to go vote on Sunday." COURTOT WALKING AWAY FROM NEWSPAPER BOOTH VARIOUS OF PERSONNEL TAKING REGISTRATIONS FOR ABSENTEE VOTING VARIOUS OF ENVELOPES FOR VOTE CANVASSING, INSIDE VOTING PRECINCT (SOUNDBITE) (French) DEPUTY DIRECTOR GENERAL OF SERVICES IN PARIS 18TH DISTRICT TOWN HALL, CLAIRE SAUPIN, SAYING: "For sanitary measures, the city of Paris had delivered sanitary kits to all polling stations with a certain number of products, such as hydroalcoholic gel, so voters can disinfect their hands, wipes to clean tables, the voting stations and all items in the voting precinct, masks and protective visors too, as well for voters who don't come with their own masks." DISINFECTANT PRODUCTS BOTTLES OF ALCOHOL GEL MASK DISINFECTANT PRODUCTS (SOUNDBITE) (French) DEPUTY DIRECTOR GENERAL OF SERVICES IN PARIS 18TH DISTRICT TOWN HALL, CLAIRE SAUPIN, SAYING: "We have recruited more polling officers to have someone dedicated to making sure sanitary measures are followed. One officer is responsible for verifying that alcohol gel bottles are full, and that voters observe social distancing, so they can circulate around the voting precinct and be reminded of it." ROOM FOR CANVASSING VOTES, WITH ENVELOPES FOR BALLOTS PARIS 18TH DISTRICT TOWN HALL
- Embargoed: 11th July 2020 10:44
- Keywords: Paris mayor coronavirus health municipal elections safety security measures voting precincts
- Location: PARIS, FRANCE
- City: PARIS, FRANCE
- Country: France
- Topics: Government/Politics,Elections/Voting
- Reuters ID: LVA005CK59IRR
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: PLEASE NOTE: THIS EDIT CAN BE USED WITH THE FOLLOWING ANALYSIS PIECES: 5057-FRANCE-ELECTION/PREVIEW / 5107-FRANCE-ELECTION/ANALYST/ 4157-FRANCE-ELECTION/MACRON
Ballot boxes for the second round of France's municipal elections have been gathering dust in town halls, as the coronavirus lockdown forced the government to delay the poll by three months.
The vote will finally be held on Sunday (June 28), with 157,632 candidates vying for mayoral and councillor posts in nearly 5,000 municipalities where officials were not elected in the first round.
In Paris, the city hall distributed sanitary kits with alcohol gel, masks and wipes to 872 voting precincts.
Voters will be required to wear masks and floor markings will help them observe one-metre social distancing.
French President Emmanuel Macron was criticised for pushing through with the first round of voting on March 15, just as the country was about to enter a lockdown. Some voters found the move paradoxical in light of draconian measures such as shutting schools, museums and theaters.
A high abstention rate is expected for Sunday's vote. An IFOP poll from June 12 found that only 38% of voters would head to the polls. The first round had a 44% participation rate.
(Production: Michaela Cabrera, Melodie Sforza, Antony Paone) - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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