The demographic weight of this generation is shrinking. Those under 25 accounted for 14% of the electorate in 1981. They will make up only 11% of it in 2027, and they vote intermittently.
As the 2027 presidential election approaches, candidates for the Élysée are stepping up charm offensives aimed at young people, with TikTok videos, popular references and proposals labeled"youth.".
They address them informally, film in vertical format and slip in the references of the moment. Courting this electorate is nothing new. Informal address and vertical video are no longer enough, however, to show the consideration afforded to it.
The gap between these two requirements explains, according to the author, why the teams"take such care over how they address this electorate and so little over what they have to offer it.".
The question put to the candidates therefore goes beyond their strategy on TikTok. What place are they prepared to give a generation that protests, challenges and makes demands, but remains largely absent from the places where decisions are made?
They also expect public figures to maintain a regular connection with them, well beyond election periods alone. Adopting the codes of youth does not, by itself, amount to a project addressed to this generation.
In France, the candidates are stumbling over an electoral trade-off. Making ambitious proposals for young people sometimes means calling into question policies that benefit previous generations more, on pensions or public spending.