Elections

HOW TO VOTE BY PROXY?

If you are unable to travel to or be present in your commune of electoral registration, you have the option of entrusting a mandate to another elector registered in the same commune as you. This person will vote on your behalf.

WHAT IS A POWER OF ATTORNEY?

A voter who is absent or unable to vote may choose another voter to vote in his place.

The "principal" is the person who will not be able to vote. The "mandatary" is the elector who votes on his or her behalf.

Mandator and mandatary must be registered on the electoral roll in the same commune, but not necessarily in the same polling station.

Establishing a power of attorney is free of charge.

WHERE TO OBTAIN A POWER OF ATTORNEY

The local authority empowered to issue a power of attorney may vary. Depending on the commune in which the principal lives or works, he or she must go to :

  • to the district court ;
  • to the police station;
  • to the gendarmerie brigade.

If the principal's state of health or serious infirmity prevents him/her from travelling, he/she may request that a police officer or gendarme authorized to issue powers of attorney come to the principal's home to draw up the power of attorney. The request must be made in writing and accompanied by a medical certificate or proof of disability.

Citizens living abroad should contact the French consulate or embassy.

WHEN CAN A POWER OF ATTORNEY BE DRAWN UP?

Powers of attorney can be drawn up at any time of the year, and there are no deadlines.

Nevertheless, voters are well advised to present themselves to the relevant departments sufficiently in advance of an election. Not only is there a greater influx of voters in the week leading up to an election, but a late proxy will jeopardize its timely delivery to the town hall.

HOW LONG IS A POWER OF ATTORNEY VALID?

The power of attorney is drawn up :

  • or for a specific ballot (for both rounds of the election or just one);
  • for a given period, not exceeding one year, from the date of issue. In this case, the person concerned must certify on his or her honour that he or she is permanently unable to go to his or her polling station.

To apply for a national identity card, you need to make a pre-application online.

All application instructions are by appointment only, by clicking here. Make sure you have all the required documents.

Good to know: You can now fill in the CERFA form to request a proxy vote on your computer, print it out and take it to an authorized authority. Full explanations and the CERFA form are available at the following link:

Cerfa n° 14952*01 form

Who's concerned?

All voters are called to the polls, whether in mainland France or overseas. To be eligible to vote, you must be aged 18 or over, and be registered on the electoral roll of your commune.

To stand for election as a municipal councillor or mayor, you must be a voter in the commune concerned, or pay taxes there. European Union nationals can take part in the election, and even be elected as municipal councillors, but not as mayors or deputy mayors.

Voting in France 

You are French

To prove your identity when you vote, you can present one of the following documents:

  • National identity card (valid or expired)
  • Passport (valid or expired)
  • Driving license (valid)
  • Carte vitale with photo (valid)
  • Large family card (valid) issued by the SNCF
  • Hunting license with photo issued by the State representative (valid)
  • Road book (valid)
  • Carte du combattant, chamois or tricolor (valid)
  • Valid identity card or photo ID issued by military authorities
  • Valid photo ID card for civil servants, members of parliament or locally elected representatives
  • Civilian or military disability card with photo (valid)
  • Receipt valid as proof of identity, issued in exchange for identity papers in the event of a judicial inspection (valid)

  Good to know:

In communes with fewer than 1,000 inhabitants, you can vote with your electoral card only.

You are European 

 To prove your identity when you vote (municipal or European elections only), you can present one of the following documents:

  • National identity card (valid or expired)
  • Passport (valid or expired)
  • Residence permit (valid)
  • Driving license (valid)
  • Carte vitale with photo (valid)
  • Large family card (valid) issued by the SNCF
  • Hunting license with photo issued by the State representative (valid)
  • Road book (valid)
  • Carte du combattant, chamois or tricolor (valid)
  • Valid identity card or photo ID issued by military authorities
  • Civilian or military disability card with photo (valid)
  • Valid receipt for proof of identity, issued in exchange for identity papers in the event of a judicial inspection.

Voting abroad 

To prove your identity when you vote, you can present the following documents:

  • French national identity card (valid or expired)
  • or French passport (valid or expired)
  • or an official (valid) document issued by a French public authority showing the surname, first name, date and place of birth, photograph of the holder and identification of the administrative authority that issued the document, date and place of issue.
  • or card issued on registration in the register of French nationals living abroad and consular registration card (both valid)
  • or (valid) document issued by a member state of theEuropean Union or theEuropean Economic Area bearing the surname, first name, date and place of birth and photograph of the holder, as well as identification of the administrative authority that issued the document, and the date and place of issue

Voting in municipalities of over 1,000 inhabitants: the case of Saint-Avold

Voting system. Starting this year, all municipalities with populations of 1,000 or more will elect their municipal councillors by proportional representation with a majority bonus. Previously, this system only applied to municipalities with populations of 3,500 or more. It enables the leading list to secure a comfortable majority, while ensuring that smaller lists are represented.

In practical terms, each list must present a number of candidates equal to the number of seats to be filled. To be registered, the list must be drawn up on a parity basis, alternating men and women.

First round. In some cases, the election is decided in the first round. To do so, a list must achieve an absolute majority of votes cast (50% plus one vote), as well as a number of votes equal to 25% of registered voters. If these conditions are met, the list wins the upper half of the seats to be filled. The remaining half is shared out proportionally between all the lists that have obtained at least 5% of the votes cast, including the list that came first.

Let's take the example of a town of 45,000 inhabitants with four competing lists

How are mayors elected?

Contrary to popular belief, voters do not directly elect the mayor of their municipality. They elect the members of the municipal council, who then elect the mayor and his or her deputies. In the overwhelming majority of cases, the leader of the winning list is elected mayor.

The number of councillors depends on the size of the commune. There are seven seats to be filled in communes with fewer than 100 inhabitants, up to 69 in communes with more than 300,000 inhabitants, and even more in Paris, Lyon and Marseille, where the voting system differs.

What are departmental elections?

Departmental elections replace cantonal elections. They are held to elect departmental councillors.

This change is the result of Law no. 2013-403 of May 17, 2013 on the election of departmental councillors, municipal councillors and community councillors.

March 2015 sees the first departmental elections.

Who can vote in departmental elections?

To vote in departmental elections, you must be a French citizen, over 18 years of age, enjoy your civil and political rights and be registered on an electoral roll.

 What is the voting system?

Departmental elections are held on a binominal, two-round basis.

To be elected in the first round, a pair must win both an absolute majority (50% of votes cast plus one vote) and a quarter of registered voters. If neither pair wins in the first round, a second round is organized.

In the second round, pairs obtaining at least 12.5% of the votes cast by registered voters are allowed to stand. However, as this second condition is strict, particularly in view of the often highabstention rate, the Electoral Code authorizes the pair with the most votes, after the pair meeting the conditions, to stand, or both if neither meets the conditions, as was previously the case with the uninominal ballot. In the second round, a relative majority (the greatest number of votes) is sufficient to be elected.

What are the electoral districts?

Departmental elections are held at canton level. A canton is a division of the département. The number of cantons in each département with more than 500,000 inhabitants may not be less than seventeen. The number of cantons in each département with a population of between 150,000 and 500,000 must be at least thirteen. Voters in each canton of the département elect two departmental councillors (one man, one woman).

The cantons map was redrawn at the beginning of 2014 to adapt it to socio-demographic realities. The new delimitations are based on the legal population figures published by Insee on December 27, 2013.

Who can vote in regional elections?

As with national elections, French citizens aged 18 and over, enjoying their civil and political rights and registered on the electoral roll are eligible to vote in regional elections.

Regional elections are not open to nationals of European Union member states.

For the regional elections in December 2015, the law of July 13, 2015 authorizes an additional revision of electoral rolls taking into account registration applications submitted up to September 30, 2015 (and not just up to December 31, 2014).

What is the voting system?

The voting system for regional elections is a two-round proportional representation system with majority bonus.

In the first round, seats are allocated only if a list obtains an absolute majority of the votes cast. Seats are then allocated to each list according to the number of votes obtained by each list at regional level. The list receiving the absolute majority of votes cast obtains a majority bonus of 25% of the number of seats to be filled. The remaining seats are awarded on a proportional representation basis, according to the highest-average rule, to all the lists that have obtained at least 5% of the votes cast.

If no list obtains an absolute majority of votes cast, a second ballot is held. Only lists that have obtained at least 10% of the votes cast may stand for election. In the second ballot, the list with the highest number of votes obtains a majority bonus of 25% of the number of seats to be filled. The remaining seats are distributed on a proportional basis with the highest average between all the lists that have obtained at least 5% of the votes cast. The leading list therefore receives the largest number of seats, which it adds to those obtained by the majority bonus. It is thus virtually guaranteed a majority on the regional council.

What is the term of office for regional councillors?

Regional councillors are elected for a six-year term.

Nevertheless, the term of office of regional councillors elected in December 2015 will be reduced by nine months, so that the next regional elections can be held in March 2021.

What is an MP?

A Member of Parliament represents both his or her constituency and the nation as a whole.

Elected to the National Assembly, the deputy participates in the exercise of national sovereignty. They vote on legislation and oversee government action.

Who can vote in parliamentary elections?

Deputies are elected by direct universal suffrage.

Only French citizens who are at least eighteen years of age, registered on the electoral roll, enjoy their civil and political rights and are not incapacitated by any legal provision may take part in the election.

What is the voting system?

Deputies are elected by direct universal suffrage in a single-member constituency, with two rounds of voting. Since 1958, all elections have been held under this system, with the exception of the 1986 election, which was held under the direct universal multi-member proportional system, with one round of voting.

To be elected in the first round, you need an absolute majority of votes cast and a number of votes equal to at least a quarter of registered voters. In the second round, a relative majority is sufficient.

To be eligible for the second round, a candidate must obtain in the first round a number of votes equal to at least 12.5% of the number of registered voters in the constituency.

Who can vote in the presidential election?

The following conditions must be met:

  • be at least 18 years of age on the eve of the 1st ballot;
  • be of French nationality;
  • enjoy civil and political rights.

To be able to vote, you must be registered on the electoral roll. In principle, registration will close on January 1, 2017. However, people who have reached the age of 18 after this date, or who are moving for professional reasons, or civil servants who have retired, or military personnel returning to civilian life, or people who acquire French nationality or regain the right to vote, will be able to register and vote.

What is the voting system?

The presidential election is organized on the basis of a two-round first-past-the-post system. Success in the first round is conditional on obtaining an absolute majority of votes. If this threshold is not reached, a second round of voting is organized between the two best-placed candidates in the first round.

When are presidential elections held? The term of office of the President of the Republic is five years. A presidential election is therefore held, in principle, every five years. In 2017, the first round of the election took place on April 23 and the second round on May 7.

European elections: electing members of the European Parliament

The European elections enable European citizens to elect their representatives to the European Parliament: the Members of the European Parliament, also known as MEPs.

Who votes in European elections?

  • French citizens aged 18 or over on the day before polling day, domiciled in the commune where they wish to vote and registered on the electoral roll;
  • Community nationals with voting rights in their country of origin, domiciled in the commune where they wish to vote, and registered on the supplementary electoral rolls.

How are European elections held in France?

European elections are held by direct universal suffrage in a single round. Candidates are elected for a five-year term on the basis of proportional representation using a list system with the highest average number of votes. Parties with more than 5% of the vote receive a number of seats proportional to their number of votes.

The next European elections will take place in the 27 member states of the European Union (EU) between May 23 and 26, 2019. In France, they will take place on Sunday May 26.