French prime minister issues warning over voter absenteeism

French Prime Minister Jean Castex has said that the government must do more to address voter apathy following a voter turnout of just 44% at regional elections over the weekend.

“We are perfectly mobilised to ensure that French democracy works as well as possible,” Castex told a meeting of the Franco-German parliamentary assembly via video conference.

His comments come following poor results at the regional elections for President Emmanuel Macron’s party La République En Marche and Marine Le Pen’s Rassemblement National.

The head of government also blamed the health situation.

“We are still in this crisis. This abstention rate had already been very strong during the municipal elections of 2020, with more than 58% in the second round,” said Castex.

For his part, Macron invited everyone to learn from this lack of mobilisation.

On a trip to Douai, in northern France, the head of state met with the re-elected president of Hauts-de-France Xavier Bertrand to visit the site that will house a new battery factory for electric cars.

“Abstention says a lot. We must all draw the consequences,” said Macron.

(Mathieu Pollet | EURACTIV.fr)