French Nationals in Americas Go to Polls
French nationals living on the American continents began voting Saturday in legislative elections that the Socialist Party of newly-elected President Francois Hollande must win so as to make good on his election promises.
A short queue formed outside the French Consulate here at 8:00 am (11:00 GMT) as the polls opened for French citizens living in Brazil.
French nationals living in Argentina, Uruguay and other countries began voting at the same time.
In France, the two-round vote will take place on June 10 and 17. But French nationals overseas began voting on Saturday.
Over 6,500 candidates of all political flavors are battling for 577 seats in the election.
The Socialists took control of the Senate last year for the first time and on May 6 their candidate Hollande beat incumbent Nicolas Sarkozy of the right-wing UMP party to become president.
Now they need to wrest control of the National Assembly from the UMP to avoid the partial political paralysis the French call "cohabitation" -- in which the presidency and parliament are controlled by different parties.
Twelve candidates are seeking elective office in Central America, the Caribbean basin and South America.
During the presidential election, the region favored Sarkozy, giving him 53 percent of the ballot.
Overall, 1.1 million French nationals living overseas will elect 11 members of the National Assembly.
Source: Agence France Presse
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