Compared with the famous événements of May 1968, the flurry of leftwing student demonstrations that took place in Paris last week was small in scale. But the protesters’ message – echoed in other university towns – was enough to make the national media sit up and take notice. One student summed up the mood by telling Le Monde he saw little difference between a vote for Marine Le Pen or Emmanuel Macron at the forthcoming presidential runoff ballot. “Young people are being given a false choice between two options that are equally bad,” said Baptiste, 22. “There’s a growing rebellion and rejection of this.”
It is the vital task of a newly galvanised Mr Macron to ensure that this is a minority view come Sunday, when the second round takes place. With some success, he has begun to address the priorities of youthful voters who originally supported Jean-Luc Mélenchon’s radical left platform. In a rally at the weekend, he pledged a new focus on environmental targets to make France “the first leading nation to end oil, gas and coal consumption”. Belatedly, the election spotlight is also turning on to the aggressive xenophobia running through Ms Le Pen’s programme, as her policy on banning headscarves in public spaces comes under critical scrutiny.
Latest polls suggest that Mr Macron’s lead is lengthening, although the race is still too close for comfort. But beyond the current election, crucial as it is, the Paris student protests are a sign of a growing dissatisfaction with mainstream options among the young. That Mr Macron topped the polls in the first round was largely thanks to the votes of the over-60s. A clear majority of voters under the age of 35 chose Mr Mélenchon. More alarmingly, Ms Le Pen came second. The taboo on voting for the Europhobic far right is fading among those too young to be influenced by the collective memory of two world wars and the crimes of the Vichy regime. The collapse of the centre-left and centre-right, and a disturbingly high abstention rate in the same age range (more than 40%), adds to the impression of a deep disillusionment with politics-as-usual that needs to be addressed.
One route to renewal would be to reform a system that stakes too much on a two-round, all-or-nothing presidential election every five years. The constitutional weakness of parliament, and the lack of proportional representation, has overly concentrated power in the Élysée (a problem that Mr Macron’s sometimes autocratic style has made worse).
More broadly though, political polarisation among the young reflects frustrations that are at work in other post-industrial western democracies, including Britain. Issues such as precarious and unfulfilling work, low pay and asset-based inequality have created a slow-burn generational crisis. According to a 2020 study by the University of Cambridge’s Centre for the Future of Democracy, millennial political dissatisfaction outstrips that of preceding generations. In the interests of France and other liberal democracies, it is imperative that Mr Macron successfully mobilises the support of enough young people on Sunday to see off Ms Le Pen. After that, a more profound and lasting political reset may be required.
