Written by Blandine Lavignon
While the early legislative elections will be held on June 30 and July 7, some young people will not go to the polls. Testimonies from some of them in Drôme.
“It’s as if politics was only of interest to big cities” says Camille, 29 years old. This resident of Loriol-sur-Drôme is one of the many young people who did not vote during the European elections of June 9, and who will not vote either during the early legislative elections of June 30 and July 7. In its commune, as in the neighboring town of Montélimar, the Jordan Bardella’s National Rally list topped the last ballot. But the big winner of the elections was above all abstention, which amounted to more than 50%. A phenomenon where young people are overrepresented since 60% of those under 35 abstained in the European elections at national level, according to an IPSOS poll.
“Living in a rural area, I have the feeling of being abandoned” regrets Camille, who works as a public order manager in Montélimar. “OWe feel that our voice does not necessarily count…that we are “too small” to be listened to” she adds.
For Drôme, the main concern is economic, but she does not feel that a vote could change things. “As a young person, I really feel my purchasing power diminishing. I feel like I’m in a bottleneck having to remove products from my shopping cart, or even cut back on my leisure time to pay my bills.” worries Camille, who has been working since she was 17. In Montélimar, precariousness has been gaining ground for several years. In 2021, the poverty rate among those under 30 was 26%.
Concerns and shared disillusionment in his group of friends. But opinions diverge despite common experience and observations. “Talking about politics remains taboo, we rarely talk about the subject because we don’t necessarily share the same ideas. It’s often difficult to discuss politics without getting into conflict.” says Camille. Among these young people, going to vote is more the exception than the rule.
Same story among his friends with Eddy, 29 years old, salesman in a construction company and motorcycle rider. “I haven’t been involved enough lately, between work, the bike and my life. I therefore prefer not to vote, especially since I do not feel in line with the programs” he confides. He has already voted in the past, in 2012, the year he turned 18. But since then, this Drômois has never returned to the voting booth. Above all, a detachment from the political world which seems far removed from daily concerns. “We rarely talk about politics, I don’t have people around me who are interested in it, they are detached from all that. When we talk about it, it doesn’t come out not much apart from hearing, unfortunately, “the Arabs are out” or “Macron is shit”” regrets Eddy.
In the gang, Marine, 26, has not registered on the electoral lists either. “I wasn’t even informed that there were elections… In rural areas, we have the feeling of being less informed” regrets the young woman, who has never voted in her life. Several people around him are in the same situation. But the young woman, who works as manager of an automotive equipment store, also expresses a lack of legitimacy to express herself: “In the history baccalaureate, I got a 2 when I came across the Fifth Republic!” she jokes.
She has the feeling that the young people around her are less interested in politics than the “elders”. “It’s up to us to make things happen but at the same time politicians will always have the last word…for me politics is totally corrupt“ says Marine. “It’s funny but ever since I was little I’ve had this phrase from Coluche in my head: “if voting changed anything, it would have been banned a long time ago” she quotes, specifying that it is always with this sentence that she responds when asked why she does not slip a ballot into the ballot box.
