Canceled meetings, proscribed crowds and shaking hands prohibited ... The 48 million voters called to the polls on Sunday have already experienced a strange campaign. Sunday, the day of the first round of municipal and inter-municipal elections, they are preparing to vote in unprecedented conditions, on the occasion of a vote maintained in the name of "democratic continuity" .
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On arrival, in front of the nearly 70,000 polling stations in the territory, few of them should line up in a queue: these must be avoided, insisted the Minister of the Interior, in a circular published as of Tuesday. After entering the office, voters should be separated by one meter, following a marking on the ground.
Wash your hands before and after
They should be able to wash their hands at a water point, or with hydroalcoholic gel, before, during and after the vote. People with a mask may have to remove it so that they can be identified. Voters will also be able to bring their own pen to sign, after having slipped their ballot into the ballot box, provided that the ink is blue or black and indelible. There will be a complete cleaning of each office before and after the vote, as well as regular washing of tables, voting booths and urns throughout the day.
These “anti-abstention” measures have been announced by the government to ensure that the ballot takes place in the best conditions, despite the health crisis. 22% of them say that they intended to vote, but that they could give it up in the face of the coronavirus pandemic, according to our Odoxa Dentsu-Consulting survey.
"Sincerity of the ballot"
The head of state himself, in his televised address Thursday evening, wanted to be reassuring. "There is nothing to prevent the French, even the most vulnerable, from going to the polls," he said. "But it will be necessary to ensure strict compliance with barrier gestures against the virus . " These will have to be recalled, poster in support, in the polling stations.
"The right to vote cannot be denied to voters who refuse to wash their hands, at the risk of undermining the fairness of the ballot," said the interior minister. If an “obviously sick” individual has submitted to the recommendations (including wearing a mask, recommended only for people with symptoms), they cannot be prevented from voting.
In charge of the elections, Christophe Castaner made his calculations. "There are on average 1,000 voters per polling station," said the Minister of the Interior on Friday . “With a participation of 60%, or 600 people coming to vote in the space of 10 to 12 hours, that amounts to 30 to 40 people per hour in the same office. This avoids physical contact. " Other opposition politicians, like MEP François-Xavier Bellamy (Les Républicains, LR), encourage voters to vote, convinced that "it is no more dangerous to go to vote than to run into people in the street or at the bakery . "
Epidemiologists are concerned, however, with the Figaro , the situation of the assessors, responsible for the smooth running of the poll, who will see voters parade all day. They call on these people, often older and therefore more vulnerable, to wear protective masks.