The newly re-elected French President Emmanuel Macron proved popular amongst French expats in the recent presidential election, winning more than 80 percent of French votes cast in Switzerland. 

French election sees lowest turnout in 15 years

The incumbent French President managed to win 81,27 percent of votes cast in Switzerland, according to provisional results announced on Sunday evening by the French Consulate General in Geneva, compared to 58,5 percent in France. The presidential runner-up Marine Le Pen won 41,5 percent of votes cast in France but scored comparatively lower with voters living in Switzerland - who voted only 18,73 percent in her favour.

Across the board, voter turnout for the 2022 presidential election was low, with statisticians noting that this year’s turnout was the lowest in France for 15 years. In the first round of the election held on April 10, approximately one in four people abstained from voting. For the final round on April 24, voter turnout was even worse, with 28 percent of voters abstaining. 

The expat voting patterns in Switzerland closely reflect votes cast by French expats in other countries - Macron won 86,14 percent of the global expat vote, while Le Pen managed 13,86 percent. Out of the 123.838 registered French citizens in Switzerland, approximately 45 percent took part in the election. 

Runner-up presidential candidate proved unpopular among French living in Switzerland

Even during the first round of elections, presidential runner-up Marine Le Pen proved unpopular among French citizens living abroad. In Switzerland, the first round saw Le Pen come in last place, with just 7 percent of the vote, behind Yannick Jadot, Éric Zemmour, Jean-Luc Mélenchon and Emmanuel Macron. 

In order to facilitate the election, 1.200 volunteers and 107 polling booths were spread across six French-speaking Swiss cantons to accommodate the large French population in Switzerland. President Emmanuel Macron’s next term is likely to be challenging as the cost of living crisis deepens in Europe and the war in Ukraine rages on. Domestically, the president will need to focus on the next set of elections coming up in June to choose who gets to sit in the French parliament.