Time difference obliges, the polling stations have just opened. French people in overseas territories and abroad began voting this Saturday for the second round of legislative elections, which will say whether the presidential coalition remains ahead of that of the left, whether the majority is absolute or relative and whether the RN gets a group.
St-Pierre-et-Miquelon was the first overseas territory to vote, at noon Paris time. Guyana, the West Indies – Martinique/Guadeloupe/Saint-Martin and Saint-Barthélemy – and also some French people from abroad followed, notably those from North America and those from South America.
In the Pacific, voters cast their ballots on Sunday, but given the time difference, they will start heading to the polls on Saturday evening Paris time. The ballot will determine which coalition, that of the outgoing presidential majority Together! or that of the left Nupes, will be in pole position, even if the outgoing majority remains favorite according to the polling institutes.
The future of several ministers is also at stake during these elections. Because in the event of failure in the legislative elections, the candidate minister will have to leave the government, as the executive reminded us before the ballot. In these overseas territories, a minister is concerned by this threat.
The Secretary of State for the Sea in a favorable ballot
Justine Benin, new Secretary of State for the Sea, has a lot to do in Guadeloupe, where Jean-Luc Mélenchon (57%) came out ahead in the first round of the presidential election. In a logic of voting against the president, the Guadeloupeans voted in the majority (70%) for Marine Le Pen during the second round. However, it could benefit from strong local roots.
Formerly close to the socialists, Justine Benin had joined the MoDem, the party of François Bayrou allied with LREM, after winning her seat as a deputy in 2017. Candidate “various” left, she had, at the time, largely defeated ( 64%) the candidate LREM.
This time, with 31% of the votes cast, she is opposed, in the second round, to the candidate of the Nupes Christian Baptiste (26%). A vote marked, even more than in mainland France, by abstention. Indeed, in this territory, only one in four voters went to the polls.
If Prime Minister Élisabeth Borne does not seem threatened in Calvados, Minister for Ecological Transition Amélie de Montchalin is in great danger in Essonne, as is the boss of En Marche and Minister of the Public Service Stanislas Guerini, or again the Minister Delegate for Europe Clément Beaune, both in Paris.
Be that as it may, a reshuffle is expected after the election, if only for the posts of state secretaries, which have not yet been filled.