As the end of the first round in France approaches, the Swiss and Belgian newspapers echo a turnout that promises to be low. “French legislative elections are heading for record abstention”, titre Time in Swiss. At 5 p.m., abstention reached 39.42%, down 1.3 points compared to 2017. “On this basis, estimates calculate that we should arrive at a record abstention in the end, between 52.5% and 53%, well beyond the 51.3% in 2017”, note the diary.
The evening in Belgium simply titles: “Legislative elections in France: record abstention in the first round”. And quotes a voter from Thionville in Moselle, Henri Muceli, 53, for whom “we should return the vote ‘obligatory’ like in Belgium, writes the newspaper.
Unsurprisingly, this election is much less highlighted than the presidential one by the foreign press. Big newspapers like The Guardian, in the UK, or The country, in Spain, published analyzes of the issues at the start of the day but did not offer any updated follow-up throughout the day.