“The great climate fight is becoming the fight of Europe and civilization, I think that young people have understood this,” believes Jean Viard

Just one week before the European elections, on June 9, let’s take the pulse of young people. How do they plan to vote? What are their priorities? Decryption with sociologist Jean Viard.

Today, Sunday, we are exactly one week from June 9, the vote for the European elections in France. We are going to talk in particular about what it is for young people, because a survey was published this week, which focuses on young people’s appreciation of these elections. Less than a third of 18-30 year olds in this Ipsos survey for franceinfo and for Brut say for the moment that they plan to go and vote.

franceinfo: How do you understand the figures from this survey on the vote of 18-30 year olds?

Jean Viard: First of all, I find that this way of only talking about the relationship between polls and the media is tiring, because most people are only interested in the elections for the last 10 days, and a good part , on election day. And especially the young people, because they have other worries on their minds than the European ones, two or three days before, they will say to themselves what am I doing? I don’t know how many young people will go, and I actually know that they vote a little less than the oldest.

This is what we have seen since all the last elections, young people vote less…

Yes, but of course because we are in a democracy of retirees, where in fact it is they who hold municipal councils, who dedicate themselves to associations, who go to vote, etc. The democratic class starts around age 60. Is it serious ? I do not know. What is certain is that young people have other ways of engaging in society. They take forms of direct action because they no longer have confidence.

Perhaps this reflects the fact that they do not feel represented or that their fate does not necessarily interest elected officials?

Yes, because the political forces do not represent them well, but it is also because the world has changed so much that the major concerns are no longer the same. After the young people, they vote for more protest parties. If we don’t protest at 20, it’s going to be hard at 60. So young people vote more for the National Rally or for LFI than other generations. It has always been like this. But let’s be very careful in these analyses, because what is happening is that for young people, Europe has become natural. It’s like living in France or living in Brittany, that’s no longer up for discussion. I think it should be said like that.

Moreover, we can cite these figures in this survey: 30% of 18-30 year olds say that Europe is an opportunity, 23% see it as an opportunity. So, there is a large majority who see this very positively, indeed?

Of course. Afterwards, we see very clearly that the vote for the National Rally reached 40% among young rural people, that is to say populations who feel far from society, for geographical, economic or cultural reasons, tend to vote more for protest parties. But let’s look at it like this. What is positive is that Europe has become an achievement. I think that’s what is fundamental.

The other question is that in these European elections, we are not voting for a program or for a candidate. First, it’s complicated to understand the majorities in Brussels, we don’t really know who governs, who doesn’t. We don’t really know how my vote will change the choice of president, because she comes from a right-wing party, but she is not supported by her party. Finally, it’s very complicated to understand. So we’re taking a vote, I would say, like a mood vote.

And for young people, the European Union’s number one priority for the coming years must be the fight against global warming. A third of under-30s say it’s the number one priority. The European Union is the right level to act. Do you think this is a vector of mobilization?

But yes, it’s true in France and Denmark, we have rates of the same nature, and that’s very good. Young people have entered the climate battle in a relatively significant way. But indeed, a large part of young people are at the heart of the climate battle.

I think it is essential, also because it is they who will experience global warming the longest, since in principle, they have the chance to live longer than the old. So here we are, society is turning around. The great climate fight is becoming the fight of Europe and civilization, and I think that young people have understood this.