Youth and politics

74% of 18-30-years-old do not feel represented or listened to by politicians (JAM, Projet Jeunesse(s) 2025). This figure reflects the paradox between young people’s civic behavior and their relationship with politics.

Indeed, the involvement of 15-34-years-old in civic action and associations has been increasing, rising from 16% to 25% between 2010 and 2023 (INJEP), while this is accompanied by a decrease in voting and participation in representative politics among 18-29-year-olds, dropping from 31.4% in 2002 to 17.3% in 2022 (Insee Première 1929). A genuine crisis of representativeness and a distrust seem to be taking hold in France between young people and the political sphere. However, this observation must be nuanced, as there are significant disparities between young graduates who participate in representative politics, and non-graduates who are increasingly distant from it.

Considering these observations, it is necessary to ask ourselves: how can we restore young people’s trust in representative politics and how can we improve their representativeness in the political class? Given that diplomas may be a differentiating factor in voting behavior, how can we develop political and civic education to increase young people’s involvement? Finally, should we extend political and civic education to social networks, whose emergence is reshaping the political landscape.