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Voting in the second round of the French regional elections was underway Sunday in what many see as a tight race in which the far-right National Front party hopes to capitalize on the anti-refugee sentiment to gain power across the country.
Sunday’s vote comes after the the National Front finished on top in the first round, which included six out of the 13 French regions. Marine Le Pen's right-wing party gained more than 27.7 percent of the vote, with former President Nicolas Sarkozy's Republican Party coming second at 26.6 percent, and the Socialist Party of President Francois Hollande coming third at 23 percent.
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A voté ! pic.twitter.com/2pqTxxR9ME
— Marion Le Pen (@Marion_M_Le_Pen)
December 13, 201
The National Front ran an anti-immigration and at times Islamophobic campaign in a country that has more than 5 million Muslims. Le Pen capitalized on the recent terror attacks in Paris, which were claimed by the Islamic State group and killed more than 130 people.
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As of midday, voter turnout stood at 19.6 percent compared to 16.3 percent at the same time in the first round last week. Full-day turnout was at 49.91 percent for the first round.
"For me, she is going to win. Maybe it will make all those politicians stop and think," voter Evelyne Risselin told Reuters in Le Pen's electoral home base Henin-Beaumont in northern France.
But polls show that the National Front might not secure a similar lead in the second round, as the governing Socialists urged their supporters to vote strategically for the center-right Republicans in two regions where the center-left party is the weakest.
"Europe must change" - Italy PM @matteorenzi comment following France regional election: https://t.co/gzkAvYyxSe pic.twitter.com/5EHMIeKI9b
— Alberto Nardelli (@AlbertoNardelli)
December 7, 201
The Socialist party withdrew from the race in the two regions where the FN was best placed, the north, where Le Pen is a candidate, and the southeast, where her niece, Marion Marechal-Le Pen, the co-chair of the National Front, is running.
"Voters should not be treated like children, nor be terrorized," a smiling Marine Le Pen told reporters after casting her vote in Henin-Beaumont.
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In local elections in March, the National Front failed to win any department — councils that are smaller than the regions — in the runoffs, despite a strong showing in the first round. Voting stations will close at 8 p.m. local time as initial results will begin to roll out.
Much attention will also be focused on the northeast Alsace-Champagne-Ardenne-Lorraine region, where the Socialist candidate rejected his party's call to drop out of the runoffs. French regions have wide powers over local transport, education and economic development.
The results of the regional elections will provide a glimpse into the chances for all three front-runners in the 2017 presidential elections, the Socialists' Hollande, ex-president Sarkozy and Le Pen.
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