5.2 million. Here is the number of foreigners living in France. 70% of them have lived in the area for more than ten years. To bring these women and men out of the shadows, a group decided to make their voices heard in the presidential election. an initiative promising which puts the voting rights of foreigners at the center of public debate.
In 2017, a group had a great idea: to create a platform that connects French voters with foreigners. Her name ? Alter voters. Objectively ? Allow abstainers to vote for those who cannot vote. In the 2017 presidential election, nearly 1,000 couples were able to exchange their votes. Alter-votants does not fight against abstention, but fights for every resident to have the right to vote or choose to abstain.
“How come we end up with so many people who don’t want to vote and so many people who can’t? There is a problem with this electoral system.”
Thomas Berteigne, co-founder of the collective, quoted by the HuffPost
As a reminder, in France, only French nationals are allowed to vote in presidential elections. For their part, foreigners from EU member states are only allowed to vote in local and European elections in the territory.
How it works ?
You don’t want to vote and you want to let the voice of a foreigner speak? To do this, simply register via the online form. Enter your first name or nickname, an email address, a valid phone number and a short presentation of your motivation to participate in the program. Once the form has been completed, you will be called by the collective who will put you in touch with your partner by email. Well, it’s that simple.
For your information: the Alter-votants platform is not intended for minors, those who have been removed from the electoral lists or who have forgotten to register.
A symbolic power of attorney. For more information, go here.