A number of French citizens arrived early and waited all afternoon, but were unable to vote because the queue was too large. Some voters threatened to stage a sit-in strike if they were unable to cast their vote.

In response to the chaos, the French Ambassador in Monaco, Hugues Moret, has since apologised to the unhappy residents. He told Nice Matin, “I’ve taken on board all the remarks and negative comments. I will do my best to address them. I know that some citizens were waiting for a very long time and I apologise for this. It was certainly a frustrating situation.”

He also said those left waiting in the queue at 6pm on Sunday, were eligible to vote as they were technically physically in the queue.

Many voters blamed the chaos on the lack of organisation and said that the Foreign Ministry didn’t account for the correct number of people voting.

However, Moret said that their electoral process “was effective” because despite the crowds, “one voter was able to register their ballet every 41 seconds during the 10 hours of polling.”

With regard to the second round of elections on the 6th May, the embassy is already considering ways to avoid the chaotic situation from happening again: “We are looking at extending the opening hours at the polling station” said Moret.

Sarah Lloyd