Paris mayor Anne Hidalgo, who has cancelled all meetings during her last week of campaigning as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, had asked Interior Minister Christophe Castaner to allow school closures for cleaning before and after the vote.
Instead, hand-washing stations will be set up at voting points for the first and second rounds on 15 and 22 March, with Castaner assuring the nation that “voting is safe” and rigorous and protective measures have been taken to ensure the best possible sanitary conditions.
Several cities have said polling booths will be thoroughly cleaned and disinfected before and after the vote. School and town hall toilets will be open to the public, and posters at the entrance to polls will encourage people to wash their hands before and after casting a ballot.
To minimise the risk of infection, voters are being asked follow floor markings that will help them maintain a distance of one metre between themselves and others.
#coronavirus En pleine crise, l'organisation des #municipales se complique. «Ce qui m'inquiète, c'est que des assesseurs se désistent sans prévenir et qu'on se retrouve en manque le dimanche matin», raconte un sénateur et conseiller municipal https://t.co/VyTr21LGv2 pic.twitter.com/XIH4Ww7nJ2
— Le Parisien (@le_Parisien) March 5, 2020
Proxy rules for “fragile” voters who are elderly or have pre-existing health conditions have been relaxed. “Those with fragile health are also invited to vote outside of peak periods, which are 10am-2pm and 4-6pm.
Disinfectant bombs are to be set off on Saturday at polling stations in the cities of Marseille and Aix-en-Provence, where the regional prefect has said coronavirus sufferers will be allowed to vote wearing masks – which they won’t obliged to remove for identification purposes.
According to the latest report released late Wednesday, France has confirmed 48 coronavirus deaths, and identified 10 major outbreak zones.
President Emmanuel Macron is to deliver a televised statement Thursday at 8pm in his first official speech since the health crisis began.
Daily news briefReceive essential international news every morning
Subscribe
