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1. Young people as voters

2. Young people as political representatives

Young people as voters

In France, the voting age (for all types of elections) is 18, i.e. the age of majority (Law no. 74-631 of 5 July 1974 setting the age of majority at eighteen).

Each young French person who has completed “citizen census formalities" (recensement citoyen, i.e. mandatory procedure that all French citizens aged must carry out within 3 months following their 16th birthday in order to obtain a census certificate; to be summoned to the Defence and Citizenship Day; to be automatically registered at 18 years of age on the electoral lists) at the age of 16 and who has reached the age of majority is automatically added to the electoral registers (Law no. 2016-1048 of 1 August  2016 renewing the terms and conditions for entry in the electoral registers).

The electoral participation rate of young French people varies according to elections: municipal, département, and European elections bring out fewer voters than the presidential election, which attracts out young voters in the greatest numbers, as it does for the rest of the population.

Presidential elections

According to the National Institute of Youth and Popular Education (INJEP), in the last presidential election of 2022, 13% of 18 to 24-year-olds and 22% of 25 to 29-year-olds abstained from voting in both rounds. The youngest people are also the most likely to vote in only one of the two rounds, with 60% of 18-24-year-olds voting "intermittently" (INJEP, (2022). Le vote et l’abstention des jeunes au prisme de leurs valeurs et de leur situation sociale).

Legislative elections

Following the dissolution of the National Assembly in June 2024, the last legislative elections were held in June and July 2024. These elections concentrated a participation rate, all age groups combined, of 59.71% (Ministry of the Interior, 2024), i.e. the highest participation rate for these elections since 1997. Young people were also affected by the increase in voter turnout, with a turnout of 57% (+26 points) among 18-25 year olds and 51% (+22 points) among 25-34 year olds (Ipsos, 2024). The polling institute Ipsos, which is gathering this data, underlines the importance of the political context in analysing this increase in voter turnout in 2024.

Municipal elections

The first round of municipal elections took place on 15 March 2020. The second round, scheduled for 22 March, was postponed to 28 June 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic. According to the Ministry of the Interior, the final turnout for the second round of the 2020 municipal elections was 41.6%. The abstention rate was 58.4% for all age groups.

According to an estimate by the Ipsos-Sopra Steria polling institute, abstention reached 72% in the 18-34 age group.

European elections

In the 2024 elections, the turnout rate of the French (all age groups combined) was 19.81% (Ministry of the Interior, 2024), a rate down from the last elections in 2019 with 50.2% overall turnout (Vie publique, 2019). 40% of 18-24 year olds (compared to 38% in 2019) and 35% of 25-34 year olds voted in the 2024 European elections (Ipsos, 2024).

Young people as political representatives

There is no particular legislation covering the representation of young people in assemblies, or their place and role within political parties.

The minimum age for membership (of political parties) is set by the parties themselves. According to article LO.127 of the Electoral Code, “on the date of the first round of voting, any person who meets the conditions to be a voter […] may be elected to the National Assembly”. The conditions for being a voter are set by article L.2 of the Electoral Code, which states that all French people who have reached the age of 18 and who enjoy civil and political rights can be voters.

To be eligible to run for an election, candidates must meet the following substantive requirements:

• Be a French citizen;
• Be at least 18 years old (Article LO. 127 of the Electoral Code);
• Be a registered voter;
• Not be deprived of their eligibility rights by a court decision (Articles L. 6 and L. 199 of the Electoral Code);
• Not be under guardianship or curatorship (Article L. 200 of the Electoral Code);
• Have fulfilled the obligations imposed by the National Service Code (Article L. 45 of the Electoral Code).

Certain formalities must also be completed (Law of November 6, 1962, concerning the election of the President of the Republic by universal suffrage):

• Obtain 500 endorsements from elected officials, representing at least 30 different departments or overseas collectivities, with no more than one-tenth of them being elected officials from the same territory;
• Submit a declaration of assets and a declaration of interests to the Constitutional Council.