(Montreal) European expatriates are called to vote today to elect the representatives who will sit in the European Parliament, while war is on the doorstep of the European Union.

It was barely 8 a.m. this morning and many French expatriates were already lining up in front of the polling station set up for the occasion in the Center Mont-Royal. Identity documents in hand, some had gotten up early for fear of too much traffic.

For some, it’s the first time they’ve put a ballot in the ballot box, while for others it’s an event not to be missed.

Camille Albri is 24 years old and lives in Quebec with a work permit. She wants to be able to stay in Canada to settle down for good, but the need to come and vote was obvious to her.

“It’s important because I still have family in France, so I vote for my family,” she says.

Camille Albri does not hide the fact that the situation in Ukraine and the Middle East pushed her even more to vote.

This is also the case for Serge Meyer, who has lived in Canada for 50 years. Even though he is now a Canadian citizen, it was important for him to vote, especially given the current geopolitical context.

He admits to being surprised by the large number of people who came to vote this morning. Among the crowd, several voters expressed concern about the rise of the far right in Europe.

“I think we are at a time when it is important to make our voices heard in the face of the rise of racism in France and the extreme right in Europe,” explains Carla Cruz, who came to vote for the first time in the European elections.

For the French Consul General, Marie Lapierre, the number of voters who came early in the morning seemed similar to previous years. Her consulate received a very large number of proxy requests this year, particularly from young expatriates.

“All generations are really very engaged,” she says. The population we see today is not entirely representative, because we received a lot of proxies, the majority of which were submitted by young people. »

The participation rate was 17% in the last European elections in the Montreal constituency.

The results of the European elections will be revealed on Sunday during the day.