French expats vote left in first parliamentary poll results

French expatriates voted for François Hollande’s Socialists and their allies in a first-round vote that took place a week ahead of the start of parliamentary elections in mainland France. And opinion polls show the left looking likely to form the government after a second round on 17 June.

Reuters/Robert Pratta

For the first time ever 1.1 million French citizens living abroad could vote in 11 special constituencies.

The expatriates’ constituencies are:

US/Canada;
South and central America and the Caribbean;
UK/Ireland/Scandinavia;
Benelux;
Iberian peninsula/Monaco;
Switzerland;
East and central Europe/Balkans;
Italy, Turkey, Cyprus and Israel;
North and west Africa;
Africa and the Middle East;
Asia-Oceania.

Not many of them did – turnout was between 20 and 25 per cent – but, unexpectedly, the majority of those who cast their ballot backed the left.

With a second round next week, the Socialist Party and the Greens are ahead in seven constituencies, while Nicolas Sarkozy’s UMP is ahead in four.

Sarkozy was ahead in eight of the constituencies in the presidential election.

Two opinion polls Tuesday showed the left set to win enough seats to form a government, while Hollande enjoyed a healthy popularity rating.

An Ipsos-Logica poll for Radio France showed the Socialists and their allies with 45.5 per cent and the UMP and its possible coalition partners with 34 per cent.

The far-right Front National (FN) was at 14 per cent and François Bayrou’s Modem at three per cent.

That would mean between 249 and 291 seats out of 577 for the Socialists - rising to 303-357 with the Greens and Jean-Luc Mélenchon’s Left Front – and 209 and 255 for the UMP - rising to 220-274 with its allies.

The FN and Modem would get between s zero and three seats.

A separate poll by LH2 showed the left at 46 per cent the mainstream right at 34.5 per cent and the FN at 14.5 per cent.

Opinion polls ahead of the presidential poll underestimated FN candidate Marine Le Pen’s 17.9 per cent score but an equivalent percentage in parliamentary polls would not necessarily translate into seats.

LH2 gave Hollande a 58 per cent popularity rating, while a Viavoice poll gave him 62 per cent.