Low voter turnout in second round of French elections

French voters cast ballots in run-off elections on Sunday. The elections can give far-right in French politics its first regional powerbase. In the first round of voting last Sunday,President Emmanuel Macron's party was to get none of France's 13 regions. However, the election was also disappointing for far-right leader Marine Le Pen.

Low voter turnout has been a surprising factor in these elections. On Sunday, only 27.89 per cent of voters had turned out by 1500 GMT. This is very low as compared to 50.54 per cent in 2015.

"I have no intention whatsoever to go and vote today, simply because I've lost faith in our politicians," Parisian Jean-Jacques told Reuters TV while strolling on one of the River Seine's bridges.

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But others were galvanised by news of last Sunday's low turnout. "I didn't vote last week, but the abstention rate was a bit of a wake-up call, and so I decided to come and vote today instead of staying at home or going for a walk, because it is important," said 38-year old lawyer Masing Coulibaly.

In the first round of elections, Le Pen's party fell short of prediction. It came at the top in just one region, Provence-Alpes-Cote d'Azur

The traditional centre-right which was decimated by Macron in 2017 presidential and legislative elections, staged a surprise comeback.

A trio of its top members, all former ministers and currently at the helm of some of France's most populous regions, are running for re-election this Sunday, which they hope will give them a springboard for the 2022 presidential race.

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In particular, Xavier Bertrand of the northern Hauts-de-France region around Calais has emerged as the conservatives' favourite in opinion polls to represent the party in the presidential election.

Macron's aides see the former health minister as a threat who could eat away at the president's centre-right voter base in the first round of the presidential vote in April.

Valerie Pecresse in the greater Paris region and Laurent Wauquiez in the greater Lyon area are the other conservatives whose fate on Sunday could decide whether they challenge Bertrand in 2022 for the centre-right ticket.

Le Pen's National Rally still hopes to win its first ever region in the southeast around Marseille and Nice. Her candidate, Thierry Mariani, a former conservative minister, beat the incumbent from the centre-right last Sunday, but by a lower margin than expected.

Victory would give Le Pen momentum and a platform to challenge Macron in 2022, a repeat of the 2017 duel that polls show would be won by Macron again, though by a slimmer margin.

Elsewhere, the Greens and leftwing allies are hoping to capture the Loire valley region, while a four-way contest in Burgundy gives an outside chance to the far-right to win power.

(With inputs from agencies)