French dissent voting 'banned'

Voting rebels could be fined

A campaign orchestrated by left-wing voters to mark their distaste at being forced to back centre-right President Jacques Chirac in the second round of the French presidential election has run foul of electoral rules.

Campaigners had been urging voters to wear rubber gloves or nose pegs at the polling booth to protest the lack of democratic choice at having to vote Chirac to keep far-right leader Jean-Marie Le Pen out.

Mr Le Pen displays the two ballot papers all voters will receive

But authorities have warned that ostentatious displays of political affiliation or protest in the polling stations go against French law.

The Constitutional Council, one of France's highest courts which rules on political or legislative matters, said late on Thursday that such accessories or behaviour, "apart from undermining the dignity of the vote, would be of a nature to provoke disorder in the polling stations or nearby" and would be contrary to the constitutional article providing for "secret" ballots.

Other displays of dissent were to have included walking backwards to the ballot box, keeping the left hand behind one's back, or wearing all black as a sign of mourning.

Voters were also asked - mainly over the internet - to use one ballot paper to vote for Mr Chirac and send the other one (for Mr Le Pen) freepost to the president as a reminder of the circumstances in which he was elected.

Fine

Anybody who violates the laws could be liable to a 15,000-euro ($13,000) fine or one year in prison.

The Constitutional Council said it could even go as far as nullifying all the votes cast at a polling station if any display of protest voting was to be witnessed there.

People turning up with gloves or clothes pegs will be asked to leave the polling station and to come back without them

Roanne town official

And if television crews broadcast such acts, they may be found guilty of "electoral propaganda".

Some of the websites previously advertising the techniques have now backed down on their request.

Commentvoterchirac.com (How to vote Chirac) is now advising voters to "soberly" cast their ballot for Chirac - but to send their superfluous Le Pen paper to Mr Chirac as previously planned.

At least one town, Roanne in the Loire valley, intends to apply the laws rigorously.

"People turning up with gloves or clothes pegs will be asked to leave the polling station and to come back without them. Otherwise the station's supervisor will make an official note and the person's ballot risks being nullified," said a town official.

But in the southern Aude region, the mayor of the village of Villemagne said he would offer gloves, masks and a disinfection system to those voters forced to back Chirac.