facing the extreme right, a dispersed youth

When she learned of the results of the European elections on Sunday June 9, Élise burst into tears. Sadness at the rise of the National Rally, but above all guilt. Like 62.5% of 18-34 year olds, she did not go to vote. “The truth is that I found out too late that there were elections. I could no longer register on the lists near me, and, out of laziness and lack of interest, I did not make a proxy…”, she admits, sheepishly.

On a terrace on the slopes of Croix-Rousse, in Lyon, the young girl with a blond bob, 25 years old, returns in front of her friends on her ” startle ” policy. They joined together this Monday, June 17, to see France play its first Euro football match.

“I blame myself because I have the impression of having participated in a party that I hate gaining responsibilities. In 2022, I reluctantly slipped a “useful” ballot into the second round to oppose the RN”, she continues. Élise was, however, very politicized when she was a high school student. Her engineering studies and her daily life took her away from it. “It shocks me to think that I have changed and not in a good way. »

Young people (18-34 years old) are those who mobilized the least in the European elections. Those we meet in the streets of Lyon are no exception to the rule, but many bite their fingers. In front of the Epitech computer school, Émilie, 22, admits to having ” forget ” to go vote. She has since re-registered on the electoral roll. On June 30, in the first round of the legislative elections, she will vote for New Popular Front.

A vote polarized at the extremes

Despite the numerous polls placing the RN in the lead, many young people had not “didn’t see it coming” such a climb. This is the case of Romain . In 2022, he promised to vote “against” for the last time. On June 30, however, he will deviate from his promise, and plans to vote

“for Macron’s party. He’s the only one, for me, who can really stand in the way.”

His choice differs from the trends of his generation. According to a note from the Jean-Jaurès Foundation, young people seem to have become polarized at the extremes of the political spectrum. On June 9, 33% of them posted an LFI bulletin, 25% for the RN, and only 8% for the Renaissance list. The young people we meet largely reject the policies of Emmanuel Macron, in power for seven years, the vast majority of their lives as voters. Léonard, sitting next to Élise, does not have words strong enough to criticize the president, whom he “hate”. «I find that he is pursuing a brutal policy. Everything is done through repression, he governs against the people”

summarizes this 24-year-old doctoral student in physics, keen on politics. As a result, he always voted

“for the candidate who had the greatest power to cause harm vis-à-vis Macron. In the legislative elections, I am not stopping myself from voting RN.” In the streets of Lyon, conversations on the terrace, however, are far from all revolving around politics, which often take second place to romantic relationships, exam grades or summer vacations. Some, however, talk about it, rarely in a positive way. Paul, a business school student, regrets the extreme polarization of the debate. “I would like to vote, but I no longer feel represented at all. I miss the PS and the UMP. » His friend Louis no longer wants to.

“It’s not by going to vote that things will change for me. »

Disgust with spectacle politicsWe find this tendency towards disengagement almost everywhere in the towns and villages of the Rhône. In Pusignan, a rural village where the RN won 47% of the votes in the European elections, finding young people during the week is not an easy task . “I am not a real Pusignanese”,

warns Benjamin, 18 years old. He has just finished his year of hypokhâgne in Lyon. On June 9, he voted for the first time. “I knew I wanted to vote against the RN, but above all I wanted to support ideas rather than speakers. » Although he has only just gained the right to vote, we can already sense a form of bitterness in him.

“I have the impression that politics is more and more about spectacle, about entertainment. We should vote for our idea of ​​justice, not for someone because they speak well. »Aside from Benjamin, the young crusaders in Pusignan do not seem to be interested in politics . For Tristan, 24, a waiter at the village restaurant, the vote of June 9 was mainly limited to one thing: blocking the RN.

France, Pusignan, 06/17/2024. Portrait of Tristan, 24 years old in the town of Pusignan. Photograph by Antoine Merlet. / Antoine Merlet / for La Croix

Banalization of RN on networks Pauline, 19, also has “fear of extremes”.Internship at the village real estate agency, she can only see to what extent these are valued on the networks . “It has become a fashion trend to vote for the RN, Bardella is trending everywhere on TikTok”,

France, Pusignan, 06/17/2024. Portrait of Pauline, 19 years old in the town of Pusignan. Photograph by Antoine Merlet. / Antoine Merlet / For The Cross Among his friends, many voted RN.

“Young people no longer read programs, they watch videos of Bardella. Before they hid to vote RN, now it has become a source of pride. » Others are completely disillusioned. Abdel, who takes advantage of the sunny afternoon to walk his dog, is one of them. The 23-year-old young man found a job as a renovation painter in Switzerland, and returns to his native Rhône only for the holidays. But especially not to vote. “I don’t believe it anymore, it’s smoke and mirrors

. My parents voted their whole lives, it didn’t change anything. » If he had to slip a ballot into the ballot box, this child of immigrants would vote for a program that “would benefit the French”,

with measures like Frexit, national preference and immigration restrictions. Jordan Bardella?

“He doesn’t have any more diploma than me!” But Marine Le Pen has good ideas. I don’t care anyway, I don’t want to stay in France. »

“I voted and re-voted, it changed nothing” A few tram stops away, in Vaulx-en-Velin, the landscape changes but the resignation is the same. In this suburb of Lyon where those under 25 represent 40% of the population, participation in the European elections was 34%, one of the lowest in France. In this group of friends leaning against a bakery, some had been tempted in recent years by La France insoumise, but most came to feed the ranks of abstention.“I am on the verge of voting for Le Pen in the legislative elections, because Macron has been promising us the carrot for seven years but nothing is moving here,” says Mehdi*, 29, who abstained from the European elections. For him and his friends, all sons of immigrants born in France, purchasing power is one of the main concerns. “My father, in the 2000s, earned €1,500 per month and fed his eight children,

he explains . My mother today is on €2,300 with four children to support and she can’t get by. It’s no longer possible. » Tinted with conspiracy, the speech is pessimistic, and the “return to the country” fantasized.

“I voted and voted again, it didn’t change anything, it just accelerated my departure to return to Morocco,”summarizes Sélim*, 29 years old.

. Legislative elections 2024: facing the extreme right, dispersed youth France, Vaux en Velin, 06/18/2024. Portrait of a young man called Ismael in the town of Vaux en Velin. Photograph by Antoine Merlet. / Antoine Merlet / for La Croix “I like Louis Boyard (LFI deputy for Val-de-Marne, Editor’s note),

he defends young people who are struggling to find housing or a job. He opened the eyes of many of us,”

Ezra explains. Ismaël appreciates Jean-Luc Mélenchon, whom he follows on the networks. If they clearly situate certain personalities, the notion of party is more vague.

“Wait, what is the National Rally again? Ah but it’s Bardella! Oh no, he’s dead, he’s the extreme right. » A quarter of young people for the National Rally The National Rally is however increasing among 18-24 year olds, going from 15% in the 2019 European elections to 25% in 2024. At only 18 years old, Djany is part of this quarter of voters: he was eager, for his first vote, to slip in an RN ballot. The tattooed young man works in the family restaurant in Montluel, in Ain, where he grew up. Despite the direct TER to go to the center of Lyon, he almost never goes there. “I voted for Bardella, like all my friends, normal”, he said proudly. The cook admits that he does not master the party program, but remains sure of himself.

“Insecurity, the economy… France is going downhill. I want to see change. » Which one, for example?“Let there be no more thugs in the demonstrations, and less delinquency. »

Loan has observed this rise in the RN vote among young people on the ground. Behind the lot of insults he receives on the networks and when he distributes leaflets, this young RN activist feels a certain interest. Already mobilized during the European campaign, he is now fully committed to the legislative elections.

« Sometimes, when we go to the markets, I stay for three hours but I only distribute ten leaflets, because people want to talk and understand. » The jolt of June 9

Talking and understanding, Loan, 20, likes it, he who has been passionate about politics since he was little. “And the more you are interested, the more you form your convictions. » In 2023, this business school student took his card to the RN, convinced by the party’s ideas in terms of security, the integration of foreigners and social policy, particularly with regard to purchasing power. The RN, far right? “People were traumatized by Jean-Marie Le Pen, whose comments sterilized the debate on insecurity and immigration for forty years, concedes the young man who says he is angry with the founder of the FN for his controversial statements and his provocations.

But I think he was visionary on subjects like the economy or federal Europe. » Loan is never against the debate. “As long as there are arguments to be had. » Since June 9, Élise has been going through the events, reading all the programs and finding out as much information as possible. With a specific objective.

For her, there will be a before and after June 9, 2024.

“I have never felt so engaged. »

The first names have been changed at the request of the interested parties.

——Purchasing power, the primary determinant of youth voting Despite an interest in environmental and social themes,

young people, like all French people, place purchasing power as the main motivation for their vote in the European elections (47% among 18-24 year olds). This is followed by environmental protection (43% among young people, compared to 27% in the general population) and immigration (34%, compared to 43%). In fourth and sixth reasons,