Voting in the European elections is now over and the abstention rate is now known. Did the French mobilize for the vote?
We know the proportion of abstentions in the 2024 European elections. 48.22% of French voters did not vote for the election this Sunday June 9 according to figures from the Ministry of the Interior. An abstention due either to lack of support for one of the candidates, or by conviction or even by disinterest in the ballot which allows the representatives of France to be elected to the European Parliament.
The abstention rate in the European elections has fallen compared to the last election in 2019 (49.88% abstention compared to 50.12% participation). The trend continues the path started five years ago when the proportion of abstention once again became less important than that of participation after decades marked by abstention above 50%. This is an encouraging sign, even if more than 48% voters still remain disinterested in the election.
The European elections have never been a very unifying vote in France and the results of polls published until June 7 announced low participation. But the candidates hoped to contradict the predictions and they did. The European nature of the election partly explains the lack of interest of some French people in the European elections: voters have little knowledge of the European institutions or give them little credit. At the same time, the French are worried about very national subjects such as purchasing power, education or health, even if other concerns echo European subjects such as immigration.
Another explanation for the abstention: the weariness of the French with the political forces in place. The European elections have once again fueled the duel between the presidential majority and the National Rally, between Emmanuel Macron and Marine Le Pen, as it has for seven years.