France Introduces Fully Digital Electoral Proxy Voting for 2026 Municipal Elections

The French Ministry of the Interior has launched "Maprocuration," a fully digital electoral proxy voting system accessible via the France Identité digital identity platform, ahead of the municipal elections scheduled for March 15 and 22, 2026. This new online system allows voters who cannot attend polling stations to authorize another person to vote on their behalf entirely online.

To use the service through the FranceConnect portal, voters must hold a new identity card and have a certified digital identity. Certification requires downloading the France Identité app, confirming an email, scanning an identity card, and visiting a participating town hall with a QR code generated by the app. Since March 31, 2025, this certification can be performed when receiving a new identity card, which residents over 18 can obtain at no cost to access the service.

The Maprocuration platform was successfully trialed during the 2024 European and legislative elections, with over 100,000 proxy votes registered online. Notably, 75% of the 4.4 million total proxies in 2024 were completed via this digital method, underscoring strong user adoption. Additionally, since January 1, 2022, voters can designate a proxy voter registered in another municipality, provided the proxy votes at the voter's assigned polling place and holds no more than one proxy nationwide.

For those preferring traditional methods, paper proxy forms remain available through police stations or consulates. This move towards digital proxy voting reflects the government's aim to modernize voter participation and streamline electoral processes.