French Municipal Elections

In the past week, I’ve witnessed silver boards pop up all over Paris plastered with campaign posters. My host mom explained that Paris municipal elections occur this week.

The elections are taking place in different cities across France, but for Paris, these elections will determine the city’s mayor along with the representatives for the 20 arrondissements, or districts, of the city.

The first round of votes occurred Sunday, and the second round will happen this coming Sunday.

The second round serves as a runoff. Only candidates that win an outright majority in the first round can claim their seat without a runoff.

After Sunday’s elections, news sources are reporting that France’s conservative party, Union pour un Mouvement Populaire, and the ultranationalist, Front National, have made gains over the Socialist Party, Parti socaliste. The current president of France, Francois Hollande, belongs to the Socialist Party.

Unlike the United States, France has a multi-party political system. The Socialist Party leads the left while the UMP party leads the right.

But within the divisions of left and right exist other parties apart from the two consistent contenders. Europe Ecologie Les Verts, Green party, and Parti communiste français, Communist party, are also considered leftist. Parti de Gauche, Left Party, is considered to be an extreme left-wing party.

Nouveau Centre is a right-winged party that has had a presence in recent elections. Front National is known to be the extreme right winged party in France.
In France, people are noticeably more politically engaged. Press stands around Paris sell daily newspapers for both the right wing and the left wing, along with Le Monde and Le Parisien that don’t identify with either side.

It’s common to engage in conversation about politics, even when it’s with someone you have just met.

Every political occasion holds value to the French, even municipal elections, which typically don’t gain much attention in the United States. Voter turnout alone can speak for the politically engaged nature of the French.

More than 80 percent of the population voted in their last presidential election.
Currently, the race for mayor is a hot topic of conversation. Anne Hidalgo, of the Socialist Party, just took the lead against conservative rival Nathalie Kosciusko-Morizet after Sunday’s votes. Regardless of who wins, Paris will likely have its first-ever female mayor.

This is a big step for women in government, who have routinely been missing in leadership positions. Both candidates have experience in government, and according to a New York Times article, see themselves as an inheritor of the Paris created by the current mayor Bertrand Delanoe.

As different campaign posters continue to garner attention across the city and headlines continue to make predictions, I’m looking forward to see how the political climate in Paris will change after these municipal elections.

­anukumar@indiana.edu
@AnuKumar23