Senate says yes to foreign vote bill
Giving local vote to non-EU residents in France is approved by small majority and will now be debated by MPs
THE FRENCH Senate has voted in favour of giving non-EU citizens the right to vote in local elections - but the draft law now faces scrutiny from MPs in the National Assembly.
The Socialist bill was approved last night by just seven votes - with 173 in favour and 166 against. It stands little chance of passing the National Assembly because the UMP party, which has a majority there, is hostile to the idea.
Prime minister François Fillon was accompanied by interior minister Claude Guéant and justice minister Michel Mercier in the Senate yesterday to encourage senators to throw out the proposed law.
Fillon was booed by senators from the Socialist, communist and green parties when he claimed giving the vote to foreigners would "undermine one of the foundations of the republic".
The prime minister argued that there needed to remain a link between citizenship and the right to vote.
Interior minister Claude Guéant said the Socialists kept bringing up the subject of foreign votes before an election, adding: "It says a lot about the party's priorities."
Left-wing senators, in turn, accused the government of "stigmatising" foreigners and trying to attract Front National supporters, with five months until the presidential elections.
