Motives of the French who might abstain in the legislative election first round 2022

The first round of the French legislative elections took place on Sunday, June 12, 2022, and according to the estimates of the IPSOS institute, more than half of the French people registered to vote did not go to the polls. The first reason for this abstention given by the latter was that the candidates did not talk enough about the subjects that interest them. This reason was particularly mentioned by people over 50 years old. The second reason mentioned by abstentionists, especially among those aged 25-34, was that there was no election campaign.

A disappointing campaign

The electoral context did not turn out to be very exciting for the majority of the French. If 15 percent of French people considered that the campaign for the legislative elections was interesting, half of them felt that it was non-existent. According to a good part of the population, the main issues of concern to citizens, such as purchasing power, the health system or the environment, were not sufficiently addressed. This was also the case during the campaign for the presidential elections of April 2022, especially according to voters of the Parti Socialiste and Europe Ecologie-Les Verts. In addition, some French people tend to think that the policy is the same, regardless of which party is in power.

A long-term trend

The abstention rate in legislative elections, as well as in most other types of polls, has risen significantly since the beginning of the Fifth Republic. In 1958, abstention concerned about one quarter of the electorate, one third in the 1990s, and more than 50 percent since 2017. While social and geographic background, income level or education level have a proven impact, the generational factor is one of the main keys to understanding this phenomenon: regardless of the type of election, the abstention rate of people under 35 years old is on average ten points higher than that of the rest of the population.