High rates of abstention in French Pacific

FRENCH PACIFIC – The French Pacific territories had some of the highest rates of abstention in the first round of the French presidential elections.

In French Polynesia, 61 per cent of voters abstained, while 51 per cent of voters in New Caledonia didn’t vote.

Pro-independence movements in both territories had encouraged abstention as a sign of steering away from France.

Those who did vote defied the trend in mainland France by voting for the centre-right’s Francois Fillon, who failed to qualify for the runoff election in two weeks.

Far-right candidate Marine Le Pen came a close second in both French Polynesia and New Caledonia, while centrist candidate Emmanuel Macron was third, winning less than 15 pe rcent of the vote.

In Tahiti, the score was noticeable because none of the main parties had supported Fillon when the campaign to succeed Francois Hollande was launched last year.

Le Pen did particularly well in the Noumea area.

The next president – who will either independent Macron or far-right candidate Le Pen – will oversee an independence referendum in New Caledonia.

In Wallis and Futuna the abstention rate was 36 per cent, while Macron won the most votes and Le Pen came a distant fourth.

Turnout was down over 2012 and in Tahiti, at under 39 per cent, it was a record low.

- RNZI