French postal workers face a "mountain" of electoral mail to distribute for the European elections

03/06/2024, Chloé Bossard

Although the campaign was officially opened on Monday May 27, electoral envelopes didn't start arriving at mail distribution centers until last Friday, May 31, after being printed and enveloped by Viaposte, a subsidiary of the La Poste group.

Less than a week to distribute nearly 600,000 election envelopes

In Maine-et-Loire, postmen and postwomen have less than a week to distribute nearly 600,000 electoral envelopes, ahead of the European elections on Sunday June 9. The CFDT warns of a work overload, but La Poste denies it. The first envelopes have just arrived in mailboxes. In Maine-et-Loire, almost 600,000 envelopes, containing the candidates' pledges for the European elections, will be distributed ahead of the vote on Sunday June 9. A real sprint for La Poste, faced with an enormous mass of mail to process in just a few days.

“It's a mountain coming down on us,” explains Claire Marchaison, CFDT representative. The campaign was officially opened on Monday May 27, but it was not until last Friday, May 31, that the election envelopes began to arrive in the mail distribution centers, after being printed and placed in envelopes by Viaposte, a subsidiary of the La Poste group. Centers farthest from major cities will not be supplied until Wednesday.
"No problem," according to La Poste.

The entire flow will be integrated into the daily rounds

The department's 700 postmen and women must then deliver the mail to each citizen on their usual rounds by Saturday, the day before the election. “This is a very tight deadline for such a large volume of mail,” says Claire Marchaison.

Professionals will have to take up their shifts earlier than usual, and extend them later, in exchange for overtime. “A few years ago, postal staff received a special election bonus based on the number of envelopes delivered and their weight. But this time, they'll get nothing,” she complains.

For its part, La Poste assures us that the entire flow of mail will be integrated into the mail carriers' daily rounds, and will have no impact on their workload, thanks to preparatory work carried out in advance. La Poste is due to distribute almost 600,000 envelopes before Saturday June 8.

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