1. WITHIN FRANCE, HOW BIG A GAP WITH OTHER ELECTIONS? Dr Anne Jadot (Université Nancy 2 / IRENEE) & Dr Bruno CAUTRES (CEVIPOF) anne.jadot@univ-nancy2.fr / bruno.cautres@sciences-po.fr BACKGROUND / CONTEXT A theoretically positive context for EP elections... A deepening EU integration. A growing role for the EP. Highly salient issues: e.g. enlargement, constitution project....The empirically negative response from the electorate = declining turnout (%) CONCLUSIONS: political interpretation (1)a very low stimulus election only 1 registered voter in 4 interested in the EP campaign (- 20 points compared to the 2004 regional elections) even those interested in politics and who have done some campaigns activities are not that interested! (2) a “secondary election” rather than a “second order” one the government was highly unpopular but the previous regional elections had enabled the use of the ballot to send a (nationally oriented) message. not turning out is itself a message (3) Low salience of the EP / relevance for the representation linkage awareness and trust of the EP discriminate well between voters and non voters. two few voters think the EP is a relevant channel for their European views  EU institutions, political parties and the media share a responsibility to trigger an active and mobilising campaign for 2009 ANOTHER FRENCH PARADOX A low turnout because of negative attitudes towards EU? Not so simple Fair enough, the “permissive consensus” is over. Yet EU support is still sound in France (%) positive opinionsDK Disagree: EU citizens living in France not entitled to social claims642 Agree: other EU citizens living in France entitled to vote in all local elections581 France EU membership = a good thing531 Disagree : French should come first against other EU citizens for jobs461 Democracy in Europe: fair work472.5 Trust EU decisions to benefit France’s interests471 Trust EU decision to benefit laymen interests401 Often consider oneself as a European citizen300.5 Very proud to be a European citizen142 + At the individual level, pro-European citizens do turn out more, but the difference with Euro-sceptics is not as striking as would be expected  lots of Euro-supporters don’t vote either in EP elections! YET EUROPEAN ISSUES CAN MOBILISE FRENCH VOTERS! Turnout= 69,7% for the 1992 Maastricht Treaty referendum = 69,4% for the 2005 Constitution Treaty referendum  THE PUZZLE Given this potential to mobilize over European themes, why did the 2004 EP elections turned down 57% of the French electorate? THE DATA = the 2004 European Election Study in France 1,406 respondents, registered to vote; quotas based sample, phone survey, 14th-19th June + In-depth dozens of interviews (in the 1990’s) for a PhD on perceptions of types of elections Is the EP participation elitist? There is a sociological divide more pronounced than at the 2002 Presidential election 1st round (see below). Yet even some high profile categories display a high propensity to abstain in EP elections. There’s a massive impact of age, leading to a “generation gap” = older people vote out of habit and/or because they feel it is their civic duty, not because they’re more interested in EU / EP. Profile of non-voters in 2002 and 2004 2002 Presidential (1st round) 2004 EP Evolution Overall2757+30 Gender Male2656+30 Female2958+29 Age 18-243062+32 25-343071+41 35-492665+39 50-642450+26 65+2831 +3 Education None2768+41 Primary1548+33 Secondary1960+41 French baccalauréat2160+39 Higher education2052+32 Occupation status Independent, entrepreneur1952+33 Salaried (private sector)2062+42 Salaried (public company)2155+34 Salaried (civil servant1745+28 or local authorities) FP6 CivicActive Participation in European Parliament Elections: The French Experience