For many, it is to understand nothing.
Huge queues, often waiting more than an hour to vote… It looks like a general mobilization of Parisians for the election.
However, abstention in Paris amounted to 21.7% of registered voters, or 5.5 points more than in 2017, when it reached 16.2%.
After 8 p.m., the queues were always full.
“I've never seen that in my life, testifies Michel, in a school in the 18th arrondissement.
I arrived at 6.30 p.m., it will be 8 p.m. and it is always crowded.
» « It's screwed up, laughs Paulette, there's no one at the school next door when there's a crazy crowd here.
»
Malfunctions?
Problems of distribution in the polling stations?
Many seem to believe it, because “it's the first time I've experienced this, I've never had any problems,” explains Raphaël, discouraged by the crowd present just a few minutes before the announcement of the results.
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The mayor of Paris refutes any organizational problem: “There are no dysfunctions.
The first round of the presidential election is mobilizing a lot.
All means are deployed, as usual.
According to the municipality, 899 polling stations were set up for the occasion, "as many as usual".
Ditto for the staff in charge of taking care of the voters: “Paris had the same number of assessors as usual”.
The phenomenon could result from the high densities of certain places: "In the West you vote in five minutes and not in the East, everything depends on the places and the circumstances", we whisper at the Town Hall.