French snap elections: Surge in applications to vote by proxy

Bringing proof of identity and a prefilled online form. Here in Marseilles, the queue keeps coming as voters turn out to validate their proxy ballots. This retired resident will be away on a spa break and plans to vote through her son-in-law. I take my duties as a citizen seriously. I believe it's very important for my grandchildren, my children and for us too and the situation in the country. It's very important. So even if I'm not here, I need to be able to vote in the queue. Some are voting for the very first time, like this 26 year old. I've never voted before, but this time I decided it was important to do something. I'm not really into politics so it's more of an opposing vote. 7300 proxy votes have already been registered in Marseilles. In Bordeaux, a bus has been put in place to accommodate an unprecedented number of applications. On Sunday alone, we processed 800 proxies. We are seeing a rate of about 100 per hour. It may still increase. It's a whirlwind. But who will benefit most from this electoral trend? According to this political analyst, it could give a boost to the left. Presumably this increase in proxies indicates a boost in engagement, a phenomenon largely being seen on the left. So we could see an increase in battles between the left and the far right. Paper proxy votes are processed manually so need to be requested as early as possible, while online proxies can be cast until Election Day itself.