French expats from Japan to Germany shared pictures online with the hashtag #JaiVote, or \u201cI voted.“<\/b>
On Saturday, thousands showed up to a polling place in Montreal, creating a line that was more than a mile long. They were there to cast their ballots, but not for a Canadian election, as the turnout might have suggested. Rather, it was for a\u00a0presidential race an ocean away \u2014 in France.
The scene was replicated in cities across the world this weekend, despite some being thousands of miles away from France. French expats in the United States and Canada began voting Saturday, a day before the polls opened in France. Expats in other parts joined in the vote on Sunday, some waiting in line for hours, spurred by the significance of the increasingly tense election in their home country.
In a field of 11 candidates, a handful have emerged as front-runners\u00a0\u2014 including far-left politician Jean-Luc M\u00e9lenchon, 65, and the far-right Marine Le Pen, 48\u00a0\u2014 and only the two candidates who receive the most votes Sunday, assuming no one wins an outright majority, will advance to the final round on May 7.
The result of the presidential election is likely to have dramatic consequences for\u00a0France, the European Union and international security. Many expats said the\u00a0election was too critical to sit out.
The voting lines are huge! We’ve been here for 1.5 hours #mtl #frenchelection #france #montreal pic.twitter.com\/U7Tz1KEiYM
\u2014 Zo\u00e9 (@zoezeitgeist) April 22,2017
\u201cI’m a bit worried right now about what’s going on in France, \u201d Manon\u00a0Harsigny, who waited two hours to cast her vote in Montreal, told CBC News \u00a0on Saturday.\u00a0\u201cI know the far right is gaining more and more power and I really, really need to express my opinion, and I don’t want to feel guilty after the election.\u201d
Still others expressed the same reservations about M\u00e9lenchon.
\u201cFor me the worst is any kind of extreme, \u201d Lisa Di\u00a0Jorio told CBC News.\u00a0\u201cThat\u00a0can be Marine Le Pen but it can also be the extreme opposite of that. The extreme left is not any better.\u201d
[What you need to know about the French presidential election]
There had been concerns that many French citizens would abstain from voting, but that did not appear to be the case as of Sunday afternoon. So far, voter turnout is on track with 2012 levels.
On Sunday morning, hundreds of French expats showed up outside the Lyc\u00e9e Fran\u00e7ais Charles de Gaulle in London, creating a line that hugged the building and wound around the block almost as far as the eye could see. The French Embassy in Britain\u00a0 tweeted that the average wait time to vote was one to 1\u00bd hours.
\u201cLet’s not spread #fakenews and discourage people from voting! #JeVoteaLondres, \u201d the embassy tweeted.
One French voter in London seemed to be motivated to push back against the populist surges that have overtaken Britain and the United States in the past year.
\u201cWe’ve already had Brexit and Trump, \u201d Marc Jeannin told the Guardian . \u201cWe don’t need a third shock.\u201d
I have NEVER seen queues this long. SO proud of all the Frenchies in London – 3hrs+ is DEDICATION TO DEMOCRACY. #frenchelection #london pic.twitter.com\/5ygImteKBX
\u2014 Sarah Macshane (@SarahMacshane) April 23,2017
Though the lines were not quite as long as those in Canada, French expats in the United States also turned out Saturday, with many in Washington venturing out in the rain to the French Embassy .
Slate’s Henry Grabar wrote of \u00a0French expats wrestling with\u00a0conflicting emotions as they waited to cast their ballots in Brooklyn the same day.
\u201cMaybe the strategy was to attempt to boost the conservative Fran\u00e7ois Fillon into the runoff, instead of padding the lead of the front-running centrist Emmanuel Macron. Or did that leave Macron vulnerable to the surging M\u00e9lenchon?\u201d Grabar wrote. \u201cOne woman, who had arrived undecided, said it was the first time she had cried in the voting booth. She wouldn\u2019 t say whom she chose.\u201d
On social media throughout the weekend, French expats from Japan to Germany shared selfies and pictures of long lines and polling places with the hashtag #JaiVote, or \u201cI voted.\u201d
Queue pour voter \u00e0 Tokyo. #Presidentielle2017 #ElectionsPresidentielles2017 #tokyo #Japon #Frenchelections pic.twitter.com\/5ve9jA4IeQ
\u2014 Paul Lago (@Paul_Lago) April 23,2017
sch\u00f6ner Anblick: Warteschlange zur Pr\u00e4sidentschaftswahl vor Institut Fran\u00e7ais in Berlin wird eher l\u00e4nger als k\u00fcrzer. pic.twitter.com\/aEFoz8nSFs
\u2014 ThomasWalde (@ThomasWalde) April 23,2017
LONG lineup of voters in Vancouver for French presidential election. #France #election #Frenchelections @CTVVancouver pic.twitter.com\/jkQBB3x5qC
\u2014 Mike Killeen (@Mike_Killeen) April 22,2017
According to a voting desk chief over 50,000 French voters are expected at the Brussels congress center. pic.twitter.com\/QGCvQilQGG
\u2014 QAri\u00e8s (@QuentinAries) April 23,2017
If you’re ever wondering why turnout at French elections is so high: decent croissants and coffee at the Mumbai consulate polling station. pic.twitter.com\/Olqi3uFgqg
\u2014 Stanley Pignal (@spignal) April 23,2017
Read more:
The French see echoes of the U. S. elections in their own
Charles de Gaulle would roll over in his grave over what has become of French politics
French election could bring a jolt to Western security, no matter who wins<\/p>\n