Montreal French expats face hours-long wait to vote in France election

French nationals showed up in droves Saturday at Montreal’s Palais des Congrès to cast their ballots in the first round of voting for France’s presidential election.

Consular officials reminded voters to bring a French or European photo ID, as well as their convocation card to speed up the process.

Voters would have been well-advised to also bring patience.

By noon, four hours after the polls opened, the estimated wait-time was two and half hours, according to a post on the Consulat Général de France à Montréal’s Twitter feed.

#ElectionFRMtl Votre Consulat tweete en direct sur le premier tour de l’élection présidentielle ! 🇫🇷 🗳️
Déroulez ce fil pour vous tenir informé(e)s en temps réel sur la situation aux bureaux de vote de Montréal ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/5wvHTpxKd1

— La France à Montréal 🇫🇷🇪🇺 (@FranceaMontreal) April 9, 2022

Voters were quick to express their displeasure in the comments.

“With more than three hours of waiting to vote, the conditions are unacceptable,” Twitter user @ComVousDites wrote in French. “Even without a health problem, the wait would be inadmissible.”

Others chimed in calling it “shameful,” with some saying they had been waiting for over three hours.

Many drew comparisons to the fist round of voting in the 2017 presidential election in Montreal, criticizing organizers for not having learned their lesson.

The 2017 election was also plagued by long wait times with many voters preferring to turn around and leave rather than wait for hours to vote. The long lines then had prompted organizers to extend opening hours at the polling station.

As of 3 p.m. Saturday, there was no word yet on whether voting hours would be extended beyond the scheduled 7 p.m. closing time.

Quebec boasts the largest French expat population on the continent with around 67,000 people registered to vote, the majority of whom are in Montreal.

The first-round ballot lists 12 candidates, including incumbent President Emmanuel Macron, who is facing a stiff challenge from the far-right’s Marie Le Pen.

Macron on Friday said he was confident heading toward the weekend’s election, despite Le Pen narrowing the gap in opinion polls days before the first-round vote.

Polling companies, however, are placing Le Pen, who’s running in her third presidential race, second behind Macron on the final round of voting.

The presidential runoff vote will be taking place on April 23 for French nationals in Montreal but April 24 in France.

— With files from The Canadian Press

by Global News