Confined, the French in Shanghai will not be able to vote


The French in Shanghai will not be able to vote on Sunday in the first round of the presidential election due to the confinement of the largest city in China.

The French in Shanghai will not be able to vote in the first round of the presidential election on Sunday due to the confinement of China’s largest city, the French embassy confirmed on Friday. Faced with the worst wave of Covid-19 in China since the start of the epidemic, Shanghai has been in total or partial confinement for two weeks. Under very strict health measures, the 25 million Shanghainese are forced to stay at home.

In this context, “it was decided not to open the polling stations in Shanghai for the first round of the presidential election”, indicates in a press release the French Embassy, ​​arguing “the official impossibility of moving “. Despite “repeated approaches”, including “at a high level”, the embassy specifies that it has not been able to obtain from the authorities a derogation for French voters. Regarding the second round, on April 24, everything will depend on “the evolution of local health standards”, specifies the embassy.

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“Local traffic restrictions will apply”

At the end of 2021, Shanghai had more than 7,000 French people registered with the consulate, i.e. more than half of the French community established in mainland China (excluding Hong Kong and Macao). Some 4,800 people were then registered on the electoral lists of the Chinese economic capital. Besides Shanghai, other regions of China are subject to more or less strict quarantine measures.

Despite the confinement in Shenyang (northeast), “the polling station will open as planned but local traffic restrictions will apply”, specifies the embassy, ​​suggesting that some voters may not be able to perform their civic duty. The other polling stations in mainland China (Beijing, Guangzhou, Chengdu, Wuhan) will open normally.



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