France - postal service reform

Week-long unofficial vote closes

Article published on the 2009-10-03 Latest update 2009-10-03 15:22 TU

A person casts a ballot on Friday for a national popular vote about the reform of La Poste, the French postal service
(Photo: Reuters)

An unofficial "citizen" vote on the future of France's postal service (La poste) concludes on Saturday, after beginning last Monday.

The leader of France's Socialist Party, Martine Aubry, cast her vote on Saturday morning in Lille and said that she voted "no" to the ballot's question "Do you agree with the government's plan to change the status of La poste and privatise it?".

The vote was started by a National Committee Against the Privatisation of the Postal Service which includes 62 bodies, ranging from political parties to unions and civil society groups. A result from the vote will be known on Monday.

Olivier Besancenot, spokesperson for the New Anticapitalist Party, said the government should organise an official referendum on the future status of the postal service. Razzi Hammadi of France's Socialist Party said that the number of voters will easily exceed the original objective of a million voters.

The government has criticised the wording of the vote as "a caricature", with Budget Minister Eric Woerth saying that the proposed reform does not "privatise" the postal service but transforms it into a company with public funding. Industry Minister Christian Estrosi has expressed "serious doubts on the credibility and legitimacy of the vote".