Cantonal Elections in France

Sundays March 20 and March 27 are election days in France. The first round of cantonal elections will determine, by a process of elimination, two candidates for the position of general councilor ("conseiller general"). The second round will determine the winner, unless a candidate receives a majority in the first round. This system is similar to the presidential election that we witnessed in 2007. Two thousand twenty-three cantons in the various departments of metropolitan France (except Paris) and overseas departments, including Mayotte, will be involved.

General Councilors are normally elected for a period of six years, but this year a change in procedure goes into effect and those elected will serve only three years. Then in 2014, for the first time, an election will be held to elect "territorial councilors" who will sit in both the General Council of the department and the Regional Council of the region.

The General Council of a department is roughly equivalent to our State legislature, and the president of the General Council is like the governor of a State. A region is composed of two or more departments and is headed by a regional president.

If this sounds confusing, it could be an effort to reduce the number of councilors elected, since one winner will effectively hold two posts. But it also could complicate matters more than simplify them, since the councilor will have to split his loyalty between his department and his region. Or, to put it differently, he will have broader powers, but the importance of the smaller entities such as departments will be diminished as they become gobbled up in the new notion of a "territory". I have no idea why this is being done or what its implications are, and my comments here are pure speculation, but several constitutional changes are being made that will affect voting procedures and redistricting.

So, this weekend and next, for the last time, the French will elect general councilors. According to Le JDD cantonal elections do not usually produce a heavy turnout. In 2008, 65% voted in the first round and 55% in the second. However, since it is the general councilors who elect the Senators, and since in September 2011 there will be a senatorial election, these cantonal elections could have an impact later.

(Note: In France Senators are elected by an electoral college composed of municipal councilors, general councilors, regional councilors and deputies. The municipal councilors constitute the largest segment - 142,000 delegates out of a total of 150,000.)

This will also be a test for the Front National, to see if the gains made by Marine Le Pen carry over into the cantonal elections, and if the voting public is ready, at long last, to voice its dissatisfaction with Nicolas Sarkozy.

There is a short summary in English at Americans in France, where I found the photo below of campaign posters along a road in the French Alps. And you can read a synopsis about French cantons at Wikipedia.