voters went to the polls for the first round of elections

Sunday, June 12, the first round of legislative elections is held in the 36,000 French municipalities. The ballots are checked, the ballot boxes are closed. “It’s a real meeting with the voters and it’s a very strong moment”, says Étienne Lengereau, mayor of Montrouge (Hauts-de-Seine). For the inhabitants of the commune, it is a moment of democracy. “Every election, I vote, I think it’s a right and you have to keep it above all”says a woman.

In Rennes (Ille-et-Vilaine) voters highlight the importance of deputies in French political life. “MPs are the most important thing, it’s fairness, it’s equality, it’s doing things in concrete life”, says a woman. In an office in Amiens (Somme), a third of voters less than for the last ballot went to vote. Polling stations will close at 6 p.m., except in major cities, where it will be at 8 p.m.