participation quantities to 45.26% at 5 p.m. in mainland France, up virtually 2 factors in comparison with 2019 | EUROtoday

Swedes have been in a position to vote since May 22, in libraries and different public premises. According to many municipalities, extra of them than in earlier European elections did so. On Sunday, in Malmö, voters continued to flock to the polling stations in the midst of the afternoon. At the Sofialund college, in a neighborhood that historically votes left, Susanna Lundberg, 50, dressed within the colours of the Palestinian flag, keffiyeh round her neck, distributes Left Party ballots. Many take them. “I think people understood that it was important to come and vote, when the right is progressing everywhere”she testifies.

In the Scandinavian nation, which should elect twenty-one MEPs, the marketing campaign was dominated by questions of immigration and safety, and the battle in Ukraine. “I voted thinking about the future of my grandchildren”confides Jochum Asplund, 68, who’s anxious in regards to the rise of the populist proper and its penalties “for democracy”. The Sweden Democrats (far proper), who recorded 15.3% of the votes in 2019, ought to make sturdy progress this night. Christine and Gunnar, a retired couple, aren’t stunned: “In a city like Malmö, where there is a large immigrant population, many people no longer want to go out. They are afraid as soon as they see a young person with dark skin. Crime doesn’t help anything”notes Christine, who’s aggravated that so few Swedes perceive that “the European Union is more important than ever”.

For 22-year-old college students Isolde Svedjeland and Sandi Lindhagen, the local weather is a very powerful subject. But additionally they voted to counterbalance the far proper: “It’s surreal and quite scary to see these parties advancing everywhere”they notice, stunned by the success of nationalist coaching amongst younger individuals: “Many people of our generation seem to have lost hope. It’s true that the future seems very dark indeed”notes Sandi.