French debate to give voting rights in local elections

[Jazzer]

I see from the RFI website, campaigners are holding an unofficial referendum on whether foreigners should be allowed to vote in local elections. Polling booths have been set up all over the capital allowing a simple yes or no on the voting slips.

[cooperlola]

Sorry?

We can vote in local elections.

I take it this means that the campaign is - in fact - to have those rights withdrawn.  Whatever next?

Do you have a link?

[idun]

Who thought this nonsense up. There have been quite a few posters on here who were elu and I imagine hardworking elu to boot. Voting in local elections is good for everyone who is permanently resident.

[Jazzer]

Not good at links but here goes:

www.english.rfi.fr/france/20110516-foreign-residents-vote-local-elections.

Had the same thoughts originally, but wonder do they mean the cantonals/municipals?

[Bugsy]

"An unofficial ............."

There is a clue in those two words

.

[Will]

Aren't we getting a bit mixed up between foreign residents and foreign nationals?

A French person living overseas is a foreign resident. So is a British person with a second home in France. There is probably a good case for the former to be able to vote, no reason at all in my opinion (but others will probably disagree) for the latter.

A British (for example) national living in France is a French resident, and so is entitled to vote, or to stand for election, in French local elections.

Only French nationals can vote in French national elections.

The very brief story which the link brings up gives no clue as to which of these categories it is referring.

[Cat]

[quote user="Will"]The very brief story which the link brings up gives no clue as to which of these categories it is referring.

[/quote]

Foreigners living in France?

"An unofficial referendum on whether to give foreigners living in France the right to vote in local elections kicks off in Paris today"

[Quillan]

So, listening to the audio what they are talking about is people from none EU states being able to vote in mayoral elections the same as we (being from and EU member state) can currently do. Nothing for us to get worked up about then?

[Gardian]

[quote user="Quillan"]Nothing for us to get worked up about then?[/quote]

Even if it was a proposal to disenfranchise those of us who are EU residents, I'm not sure that I'd be that bothered.

Two years ago, there was a mayoral election.  This, after years of local nonsense between two 'clans' in the Commune: the Mayor was stood down by the Prefet for 'financial irregularities', the stand-in Mayor was ga-ga and everything was at a standstill.

New regime: lobbying at the local bash(es) from would-be counsellors. We suggested something along the lines of "Talk to people, involve them, ask for their help, etc, etc".  Zilch.

If I'd been elected Mayor, I'd have said to the dozen or so Council members, "There's 300-ish households in this Commune: that's 25 each. I want you to visit each one of them every six months: that's one a week. Just have a little chat and find out what they're thinking and what's irking them, etc, etc."  Naive of us.

It's much better than it was, but nowhere near as good as it could be.  No Fete Votive, because no co-ercion of the potential participants.