With an uncertain step, Mehdi (the first names have been changed) enters the room, chooses a few ballots, before going to the voting booth.
At 60, this is the first time he has voted.
Under very specific conditions.
For several months, this inhabitant of Seine-et-Marne has been imprisoned at the Fleury-Mérogis remand center (Essonne).
The largest prison in Europe which currently accommodates 3,400 inmates.
As part of the departmental and regional elections, the first round of which is held this Sunday, June 20, French inmates who wished were able to slip their ballot into the ballot box.
A ballot organized over three days from Tuesday in the penitentiary.
A first since the 2019 European elections.
"By allowing them to vote, they realize that they remain citizens"
“For the last municipal elections, it would have been too complicated to organize.
France has nearly 35,000 municipalities, informs Franck Linares, the director since February of the remand center.
Until then, they could only vote by proxy or by obtaining permission to leave, which was not always easy to set up.
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For these two elections, the volunteers who wished to vote were directly attached to the city prefecture, Evry-Courcouronnes.
The 436 voters therefore slipped a ballot in the name of one of the six candidate pairs in the canton.
“A lot of people think that because they were convicted, they lost their voting rights.
But in fact, this is only effective on a court decision.
And they are very rare, indicates the director of the prison.
By allowing them to vote, they realize that they remain citizens, that they are not excluded from society.
"
"We provided them with the leaflets so that they could find out about the programs"
To reach as many people as possible, “door to door” operations were organized among the 1,900 eligible detainees. Among them, 800 were received for an individual interview so that they could be explained the stakes of the ballot. And the steps to be taken to be registered on the electoral rolls.
"We also provided them with the leaflets so that they could find out about each other's programs," specifies Nathalie Barreau, one of the two citizenship referents in charge of organizing these elections.
With the help of the staff of the National Education, supervisors or agents of the SPIP (penitentiary integration and probation service) we have set up polling stations, with a particular process to avoid that there is be confused between the two ballots
(Editor's note: departmental and regional)
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Zohra sees this experience as a warm-up lap.
“I watched television, I read the newspapers to find out who I was going to vote for,” she says.
But what matters to me above all are the presidential elections.
I hope we can vote again at that time.
"
Ballots counted this Sunday
Some have other ideas behind their heads.
This is the case with Mehdi.
“I was especially interested in departmental.
I no longer have an address.
I hope that when I come out the candidate will remember that I voted for him.
And that through a local association, he will help me find an apartment.
"
Ali used to vote by proxy.
Slipping his ballot himself into the ballot box was a pleasure he did not want to miss.
“It's important for everyone to vote,” he says.
I mainly looked at their programs in terms of security.
It is a priority today for the French.
I hope those who are elected will bring about change.
We need it.
"
All the bulletins will be deposited from 8 am at the town hall of Evry-Courcouronnes.
Before they are counted, this Sunday like all the other ballots for the two elections.
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