PARIS – Even if he did not win the second round of the French presidential election, there is something to be proud of Jean-Luc Mélenchon: He has won the hearts of young French voters, who are now struggling with a difficult choice. French voters under the age of 30 have favored the left-wing Melanson over all his opponents, have shown several polls, and are now evaluating all options before the run-off on April 24 between French President Emmanuel Macron and far-right candidate Marine Le Pen. In his last speech last Sunday, Melanson did not support, but called on his supporters “not to give a single vote to Madame Le Pen.” Earlier this week, he launched an online consultation asking his supporters to choose between three options: vote for Macron, vote blank or stay home. The results will be announced on Saturday. Many of his young supporters are now struggling to decide which option to click, a foretaste of the choice they should make next week. “It’s like choosing between plague and cholera,” said Maha, a 19-year-old social science student who gave her first vote to Melanson but could reluctantly vote for Macron in the second round. Melanson, 70, did better than Macron by targeting new voters, for example with videos on TikTok and Instagram, Maha explained as she left the so-called Tolbiac tower, one of the University of Paris’s least fancy multicultural buildings. 13th apartment. Mélenchon voters are easy to find in Tolbiac – a stronghold of the far-left student movement since the 1970s – and they all face the same dilemma. For some of them, voting for Macron is very difficult. They will either cast a blank ballot or stay home. “I do not want to make a decision that contradicts my beliefs in my first election,” said Enzo, 19, who voted for Mélenchon because of his environmental proposals. “I will abstain. I refuse to vote for the far right or Macron. “It’s the only way to hear my displeasure.” This spirit of contempt emerged on Thursday when left-wing students opposed to both Macron and Le Pen occupied the Sorbonne and Sciences Po Paris campuses. Of all age groups, abstention is highest among young French people – more than 40 percent in the first round. But Mélenchon has proven to be the most successful candidate to persuade young people to vote. Polls show that 36 percent of voters between the ages of 18 and 24 voted for Melanson and that supporters of the France Unbowed movement found it more difficult to find older voters who favored Macron over him.
Startup nation? No thanks
In his third term in office, Melanson secured votes from both low-income families and educated voters – although Le Pen and Macron, respectively, still outperformed him in every category. In the Seine-Saint-Denis district, a working-class and multicultural suburb north of Paris, Mélenchon garnered nearly 50 percent of the vote. In Saint-Denis – the most popular suburb – he won more than 60 percent of the vote. “It’s a big message. “We were recognized as working class defenders,” said Landry Ngang, a 22-year-old France Unbowed activist from Saint-Denis. Despite being the youngest candidate and distancing himself from traditional parties, Macron has so far failed to win the support of young voters, especially in working-class neighborhoods. “The work of Emanuel Macron dates back to the 20th century. “Neoliberalism does not speak to young people,” Ngang said. “We explained to them our plan for emancipation, the environment and the redistribution of wealth. “The youth are interested in these issues, not in becoming millionaires, as Emanuel Macron would have hoped,” he added, accusing the presidential candidate of embodying an “individualistic plan”. The France Unbowed activist said he would go to the polls next week and would not vote for Le Pen, but declined to say whether he would vote for Macron now. About 41 percent of those who voted for Melanson are expected to vote for Macron. 35% of them could stay home or cast a blank ballot while the remaining 24% could vote for Le Pen, according to an Opinionway poll. This may seem strange given that the two politicians come from opposite ends of the political spectrum and have conflicting positions on immigration and the environment. But they share a deep distrust of both NATO and the EU, saying they no longer want French law to be subject to EU law. Melanson – a former socialist who built his own new anti-establishment movement more than a decade ago – said his plan for France was incompatible with current EU rules. to “disobey” EU rules when needed.
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For more poll data from all over Europe, visit the POLITICO Poll of Polls. But his radical stances on European integration have not intimidated France’s youngest voters, who polls suggest are, on average, more pro-EU than older voters. “No young voters from working-class neighborhoods have asked me about the European Union. The EU is not entirely tangible to a large proportion of young people who do not travel to Europe, who do not and will not participate in Erasmus [programs]”, Said Ngang. Tupac, a 30-year-old Bolivian voter, said he disagreed with some of Melanson’s proposals for EU and foreign policy, although he backed him in the first round. On April 24, Tupac said, he would vote for Macron despite the hesitations and joys of friends. “It goes against my ideas, but I have no choice,” he said.
