|
French voters head to polls in 1st round of parliamentary voting |
|
|
|
|
Sunday, 10 June 2012 |
|
Polls are open in France where voting for the lower house of parliament
begins, which will determine whether new President Francois Hollande’s
Socialists or rival conservatives control the government, AP reports.
The Sunday elections, followed by runoffs a week
later, will also show whether Hollande can push his tax-the-rich,
down-with-austerity agenda, and how much of a voice the far right will
have in policies on immigration and Muslim practices.
The legislative race hasn’t garnered nearly the
headlines or drama of the presidential race in April and May, and many
polls suggest turnout among France’s 46 million voters could be around
40 percent — far less than in Hollande’s showdown with Nicolas Sarkozy.
The new lower house serves for the next five years — coinciding with Hollande’s five-year term.
|