Why voters in one corner of France are quietly turning their back on politics
The Bas-Rhin département or county in north-east France, which borders Germany, is dominated politically by the Right and far-right. Mediapart visited the region to test the mood on the ground and found that more and more local people, and especially those in rural areas, are choosing to abstain from voting. Quietly, and with no fanfare, swathes of people in this area are saying a discreet farewell to the world of politics. Mathilde Goanec reports from the towns of Drusenheim and Haguenau.
OnOn the banks of the River Rhine, it is not unusual for passengers to confide in each other as they wait for the Drusus ferry to carry both cars and people to the other side. Whether it is in the coolness of the early morning or the gathering gloom of dusk, ferry regulars unburden themselves about affairs of the heart, their children's problems at school or work issues.
