Consular Elections & Florian Bohême: “Our victory is above all a collective one”

The list Français au Cambodge – Stronger Together! won the consular elections with a score that allowed it to secure two seats on the Consular Council. Florian Bohême and Christine Gauthier will now represent the approximately 5,000 French citizens residing in Cambodia. A few days after the vote, Florian Bohême reflects for Cambodge Mag on this victory, on voter abstention, and on the already busy agenda awaiting the team.

Christine Gauthier and Florian Bohême

You have just won a victory in the consular elections. What is your first reaction?

This victory is clear and decisive! It first rewards five years of daily and consistent work in service of the French community in Cambodia.Thanks to the strength of our result and the proportional voting system, our list now obtains two seats.This is excellent news: we form a gender-balanced duo, with Christine Gauthier and Florian Bohême, to best represent and defend the 5,000 French residents here. Our fellow citizens who voted clearly chose a united, cohesive team with strong experience.But this victory is above all collective. With Mona, Bernard, Guillaume, and Caroline, the team immediately returned to work.

The French community’s agenda for this month of June is particularly full.An upcoming meeting of the Board of the Lycée Français René Descartes is scheduled. In addition, a visit by the French Ambassador is planned in Battambang, and Florian will soon return to Siem Reap to thank all our supporters, whose mobilization was strong.

Not to mention the community calendar, with a fair in Phnom Penh and the traditional Phnom Penh Accueil garage sale.Added to this is a major institutional component for French citizens abroad: Florian will soon travel to Paris to participate in the Board of Directors of the Caisse des Français de l’Étranger (CFE). In his capacity as Vice President of the CFE, he is directly involved in the ongoing negotiations with the French State for the signing of a new partnership agreement, a crucial issue for the social protection of our compatriots living outside France.

Ultimately, in this election, French citizens understood that we had nothing to sell. The project we propose serves the general interest. What does that mean in concrete terms? We are committed to serving the entire community, regardless of political orientation, whether they voted or not. Serving means first being able to speak to everyone while actively contributing to the vitality of the French community in Cambodia.

What do you think about abstention?

The issue is not so much what we think about it, but rather how to encourage our compatriots to mobilize and convince them of the usefulness of voting. Abstention is a complex issue that, strangely, fuels discussion during voting periods and disappears as soon as the election is over.To address it, we simply need to recall the facts, without any self-congratulation. The Français au Cambodge – Stronger Together! team actively promoted voter registration well ahead of the election. Faced with technical difficulties, everything was done to provide concrete solutions.

Let us be clear: online voting was particularly complicated this year. Despite these malfunctions, more than 300 people managed to vote using this option in Cambodia.This system will need to be thoroughly reviewed; it is not normal that France is unable to properly organize this method of remote voting.It is precisely to compensate for these shortcomings that we strengthened communication around our proxy-voting network.

As this collective has systematically done since 2021 for all elections—including national elections in which we are not candidates—this system connects a principal (a person unable to vote) with a proxy (a person who votes on their behalf). This entirely free service was highly successful and allowed many citizens deprived of online voting to express themselves.

Our team is neither deaf nor blind and has clearly seen the criticisms emerging regarding this mobilization through proxies. Yet this is precisely our strength: finding rapid solutions when problems arise. Since online voting malfunctioned, the use of proxies was strongly encouraged.

Those who denounce abstention should, on the contrary, welcome this civic initiative. The entire process is perfectly legal, with each proxy strictly validated by a consular officer.

In this regard, rumors or questions raised about an alleged “vote buying” do not honor their authors. It is even defamatory to attribute such intentions to citizens who simply made the effort to fulfill their civic duty.Français au Cambodge – Stronger Together! repeated throughout this campaign: integrity is at the heart of our approach.

Our victory is also, probably, a rejection of certain forms of clientelism. No advertisements were purchased on Facebook, in accordance with electoral law. No rumors were spread; only facts were stated. This is precisely what is meant by integrity in public engagement.

First meeting between the new Councillors and Ambassador Olivier Richard

What will your next steps be in the coming days?

First of all, the official results were proclaimed by the French Ambassador to Cambodia on Monday, June 1, in the presence of candidates who wished to attend. Following this announcement, an initial meeting was held to present the agenda for the coming weeks up to the national holiday. The councillors are therefore already fully in office.

A first institutional milestone will take place on June 24, with the Consular Council meeting to appoint its president. Florian Bohême will run for this position, which involves leading and coordinating the council’s work in close cooperation with the consular administration and the head of the diplomatic mission. The consular office will also present a report on its activities during this meeting.

A second key milestone is the election to the Assembly of French Citizens Abroad (AFE), which will take place on June 27. As a reminder, this assembly brings together 90 elected representatives and meets twice a year in Paris to address global issues affecting our compatriots.

On the ground, which remains at the heart of the team’s commitment, a trip is planned to Kampot to meet a compatriot launching a solidarity project called Kampot Assistance. The following week, the team will head to Battambang, where a consular outreach session will be held ahead of a reception offered to the French community by the Ambassador, followed by a community event organized by Français au Cambodge – Stronger Together! in Siem Reap.

Meanwhile, Phnom Penh will not be left out. The team will launch its first solidarity book fair during the traditional Phnom Penh Accueil garage sale, which will take place on June 14 at the Lycée Français René Descartes.

This is an opportunity to make a warm call for donations: if you have books in good condition to give, you can bring them directly to the venue during the garage sale.

Finally, preparations are already underway for the back-to-school Forum, which will take place in September.

In short, back to work—as we reminded voters in our message. Readers of Cambodge Mag can see that we are not lacking in tasks.