France awaits as election day dawns

It's eerily quiet in St Etienne de Gourgas today. Apart from a few Sunday motards(motorcyclists) passing through the valley, the road seems uncannily empty , and the village quiet. It is as if the whole of France is holding its breath. That is because , following close on the heels of the recent European elections, President Macron has called another election. This time it is to select a new government. As you may well know the major party of the right gained a lot of seats in the European parliament, and so M. Macron has taken a gamble. He has gone to the nation to ask them to confirm what sort of national government they really want. Voters must choose between his own centrist party 'Ensemble;' a left wing coalition of socialists and the Greens named the 'Nouveau Front Populaire ;and Marine Le Pen's right wing Rassemblement Nationale'(RN) party. Two other parties, 'Les Republicains ' and 'Reconquête' bring up the rear. All in all 577 députés , or members of the French parliament will be elected.

How I wish I could have my say. But at least one of us can. B. was up early this morning , heading through the forest on his bicycle to vote, as the village church bells struck eight o'clock. On this occasion he found seven worthy council members(all male,) already assembled around the large mayoral table , ready to register and accept the votes. Two other local village couples had arrived early too. One has the feeling that this election is being taken very seriously indeed, and that the turnout will be high. Village polling stations will close at 18.00; towns and cities at 20.00, by which time an exit poll will be announced. But our worthy councillors cannot rest there. For next Sunday there will be a second election, between the two leading parties. Life in France could be very different in the near future. We hold our breath and wait.

Later this evening we decided to take a stroll around the neighbouring hamlet of Gourgas. Just as it seemed in the main part of our village, everyone was indoors , most probably watching the telly for commentary on the predicted results. Only Angel was there to greet us by the fontaine, as he so often is. Results of the exit polls were coming in on the car radio. Marine le Pen's party would seem to be in lead position. A stiff breeze got up as we walked the circuit of the village, and the trees seemed to fret and fuss , while the river worried its way over the stones. But when I looked up towards the cliffs of the Cirque du Bout du Monde, as I always do, they appeared as solid and as reassuring as ever. They seemed to say, " whatever our name might predict, we have stood here for millennia, and will continue to do so. Politicians may come and go, but we will remain constant and firm.