According to our barometer, 80 days from the first round, only 45% of 18-30 year olds plan to vote

At the 2021 regionals, 82% of 18-34 year olds abstained. A year earlier, for the municipal elections, they were 72% to dry the ballot boxes. 80 days before the first round of the presidential election, a question arises: will young people vote to designate the future tenant of the Elysée? It’s no for 55% of 18-30 year olds, according to the #MoiJeune2022 OpinionWay barometer – 20 Minutes – West France – Journaux de Loire*, published this Wednesday. And the intention to abstain even rises to 62% among the youngest, 18-22 year olds. “It’s scary,” notes Dorian Dreuil, expert associated with the Jean-Jaurès Foundation and co-president of the NGO Voted, which campaigns for voter registration. “But the campaign hasn’t really started yet, with the popular primary coming up on the left and Emmanuel Macron not yet officially a candidate. »

Young people are however, according to our barometer, 62% to be interested in this campaign. And if we look in detail, the figure climbs to 66% for 18-22 year olds, and even up to 68% for first-time voters – that is, those who have never voted. in a presidential election. As for whether a candidate represents the ideas of young people, this is the case for 54% of 18-30 year olds. Here again, the gap is wide between 18-22 year olds, 62% of whom identify with the ideas of a candidate, and 28-30 year olds, only 50% of whom think so.

“Young people do not recognize themselves in the vote”

In summary, the youngest are those who are most interested in the campaign and who find themselves most in the ideas of the candidates, but are also those who have the least intention of going to vote. “This proves that contrary to popular belief, the youngest still believe that we can change the world,” observes Dorian Dreuil. But they do not recognize themselves in the vote. They are politicized, but do not recognize the power either of politics as an institution or of political personnel. They act through different channels, such as online petitions, citizen movements or by sharing stories, for example. »

As a result of distrust of politics and politicians, 18-30 year olds have little expectation of the future President of the Republic. A majority of them (52%) believe that their personal situation will not improve if the candidate of their choice is elected. And this figure rises to 63% among young EELV supporters. Who are also only 50% to recognize themselves in the ideas of a candidate, despite the primary which saw the victory of Yannick Jadot.

After the green wave in municipal elections and when we know that ecology is the first concern of young people, these figures may surprise. “The climate issue is a very strong theme, but because of disenchantment with the political world, the more the cause is dear to them, the less young people recognize in politics and politicians the ability to act, notes Dorian Dreuil. . Politicians have lost power. »

* Barometer #MeYoung 2022 OpinionWay – 20 Minutes – West France – Journals of the Loire carried out from January 5 to 13 on a sample of 1026 people representative of the French population aged 18 to 30 according to the quota method.