Local elections in France: new bids to allow non-EU foreigners to vote

The debate about granting foreign residents in France the right to vote in local elections has resurfaced as two new proposals aim to lift longstanding restrictions that limit the vote to French and EU citizens.

Any reform would come too late for next month’s municipal elections on March 15 and 22 - which will be the first in which British citizens in France will not be able to vote, due to losing EU citizenship. It would also face strong opposition from the right and far-right, who argue it would ‘water down’ nationality.

In February, parliament was set to debate a bill on this subject after it was proposed by an Ecologist MP. It was tabled for a niche parlementaire day when proposed bills from opposition parties may be debated.

However, MPs from the centre, right and far-right tabled more than 500 amendments, preventing the text from being debated in time.

Foreigners’ vote campaigner Mohamed Ben Saïd, a Tunisian doctor, said: “They were afraid of the debate, so they blocked it.

“We had been hopeful and happy the debate could return to parliament.”

His group, J’y suis, j’y vote, says extending voting rights is a natural continuation of democratic advances such as women’s suffrage.

“It’s a question of equal rights and inclusivity,” he told The Connexion.

“Residents who have been in France for years should be able to participate fully in local democracy.”

Second proposed law

A second bill, put forward by LFI (far-left) MP Danièle Obono and calling for voting rights in all local elections is also expected to be examined, he said.

This bill would extend voting rights of all foreign residents, including EU citizens who have been able to vote in municipal and European elections – but not in departmental or regional polls – since the constitution was revised in 1998 after the Maastricht Treaty.

Dr Ben Saïd said this represents the position of the J'y suis, j'y vote group - "in view of the fact that several aspects of daily life, like transport, primary school, secondary school, universities, water distribution etc [run at different levels of local government] all affect the daily life of all residents."

Any new law would also require constitutional revision, including a referendum if put forward by an MP. 

Dr Ben Saïd said left-wing MPs supporting Ms Obono's bill are seeking to gain support from at least 10 centrist MPs, so it may be debated as a 'cross-party bill'. 

"That could be centrists from Macron's group, or Horizons or MoDem."

He said in the course of discussions around the recent stalled bill, several individual centrists had already come out in support of it. "So, there's a chance the bill will be debated in the full house of the Assemblée nationale before June and that it can be voted on."

He added: “We hope the debate can finally take place in society, through a referendum and a democratic decision. We want to move forward.”

The idea is not new. MP Léa Balage El Mariky, who tabled the stalled bill, notes that during the Revolution, citizenship – including voting – was not strictly linked to nationality.

She also said that there are, post Masstricht, two tiers of foreigners. "Spanish, Polish or German people can vote in a commune after living there for a few weeks, whereas Moroccans, Senegalese, or now British, people cannot vote in the municipal elections, sometims after decades living here." 

François Mitterrand included municipal voting rights for foreigners resident for at least five years in his ‘110 propositions for France’ ahead of his 1981 election. Laws were voted through the Assemblée in 2000 and Senate in 2011 but never reached final stages.

Ms Balage El Mariky aimed to revive the 2011 text so it could go to referendum if approved by MPs.

Dr Ben Saïd said: “The right thought the proposed law would be blocked by the Assemblée nationale’s laws commission [which approves laws for debate] but when they saw it was going through, Eric Zemmour [of far-right Reconquête] immediately launched a petition and some billionaire-owned media, such as CNews and BFM, also campaigned against it. There was a CNews [also Europe 1 and JDD]-commissioned petition showing 71% against.”

This contrasts with Harris polls run since 1994 for Lettre de la Citoyenneté, which regularly show support – most recently 66% – when respondents are told EU nationals can vote locally and asked if the same should apply to other foreign residents.

Dr Ben Saïd said the other poll reacted to current events and asked simply: “Are you for or against non-EU foreigners being able to vote in and stand in municipal elections?”

He is calling on supporters to organise symbolic citizens’ votes on the topic during the forthcoming elections or on April 26, which has been designed International day of voting for all residents. 

If non-EU foreigners gained the same rights as EU citizens, they could stand in elections but not become mayors (as the mayor is considered to represent the state).

Reconquête spokesman Samuel Lafont told The Connexion they are “familiar with the arguments of those who want to give the vote to the whole world and soon to Martians as well”.

For his party, the issue is simple: “Voting is attached to nationality, to citizenship, other than the exception that is made for EU citizens with regard to municipal elections.”

He said their petition “exploded”, gaining 150,000 signatures.

It warned citizenship would be “emptied of its meaning” if the vote is extended, also risking foreign influence over France.

“If a foreigner has the same rights as a national, nationality starts to become meaningless,” Mr Lafont said.

It also takes away from the power that the French have over their own affairs, as their own votes count less.

He added that municipal voting could be a “foot in the door” leading to further demands, including national elections as well. 

He said the current rule is “clear and simple”, while extending the vote raises questions about eligibility: “Should you be able to vote because you visited the commune once in your life? Or because you once took a photo there or liked it on Facebook?”

Reconquête also argues that France has "handed out" citizenship too easily, diluting its value, though Mr Lafont concurred there had been recent toughenings and that there are sometimes questionable decisions, such as the refusal to a young Briton who dreamed of becoming a navy firefighter, and had lived in France since age three. 

He thinks, however, France should take a cue from Japan in being highly demanding over citizenship, saying many foreign people live there permanently without being able to become Japanese.

At the same time, he said he is shocked to sometimes see heavy-handed decisions over orders to leave France against foreigners who "are working and not causing any problems".

One argument sometimes made in favour of the foreigners' vote is that people pay local property taxes, on the basis of "no taxation without representation". However, Mr Lafont said "in France the right to vote is not linked to the fact of paying tax".

Share your view on this subject? If you are a non-EU resident of France would you welcome a local vote - would you use it and why would it matter to you? Send your view to feedback@connexionfrance.com