PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION IN FRANCE: VOTERS’ VOICES

PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION IN FRANCE: VOTERS’ VOICES
12 French voters with various background, located in Paris area, in south-west of France and in Belgium share their electoral expectations

A few days before the second round of the presidential election in France, several polls have suggested a likelihood of a significant voter transference to incumbent president, Emmanuel Macron. However, as time goes by, anonymized figures make us forget the singularity of voters. Continue...

 


Belgique, Région Bruxelles Capitale, Parc de Woluwe, 11/03/2022, Boris FAURE, marié, 2 enfants, 48 ans, auteur, ancien cadre du Parti socialiste, cadre exécutif au syndicat UNSA
Belgium, Brussels Capital Region, Woluwe Park, 11/03/2022, Boris FAURE, married, 2 children, 48 years old, author, former executive of the Socialist Party, executive of the UNSA trade union

What does this place mean to you? This sick tree is the sad symbol of current politics: it is powerless in the face of financialized capitalism, in the face of multinationals that weigh more than states in economic terms. The cankers that colonize its trunk are perhaps the symbols of everything that paralyses political life: populism, abstention, the internal violence of democratic world. But if we take a closer look at the tree, there are grounds for hope: there are parakeet nests in its trunk, little green birds capable of adapting everywhere. Continue...

France, Maubourguet (65), ancien théâtre, 05/04/2022, Caroline LAUZIN, célibataire, sans enfant, âge non précisé, anartiste plasticienne et amusicienne
France, Maubourguet (65), former theatre, 05/04/2022, Caroline LAUZIN, single, no children, age unspecified, plastic “anartist” and “a-musician” 

What does this place mean to you? The idea immediately came to me to go to the old theater of Maubourguet, the village to which I exiled myself since July 2020. First of all, as a militant act to try to save this theater from abandonment, whereas there are so many artists who cannot find a place to express themselves. In this theater, I have chosen not to sit on the stage. I have nothing to do on the stage during these elections. I am a mere and powerless spectator. Continue...

France, Maubourguet (65), 05/04/2022, Annick B, divorcée, 3 petits-enfants, 65 ans, infirmière retraitée
France, Paris 11, Republic Square, 2022-03-02. Romane O, 50 years old, divorced, no children, trade union official (CFTC).

What does this place mean to you?It is in my view a symbol of the power of freedom, the French Republic and fraternity. What do you expect from the next President of the French Republic? In accordance with my trade union commitment, based on humanist values, I expect the next president to preserve the values of liberty, equality and fraternity enforced over the last fifty years for the benefit of French citizens. Given the results of the first round, will you vote in the second round? Probably. Not for the RN [Lepen-led far-right movement], because it doesn’t offer me enough guarantees as regards brotherhood. What is your reaction to outgoing president Emmanuel Macron’s reelection? Reaction: as expected, macron is the Pres ! Legislative hope: « La France Insoumise” [Mélenchon-led far-left movement], the green, the French communist party, LR (right wing movement) MPs in majority. Meaning: non-hegemonic Macronist MPs !

Annick B, est une infirmiere francaise en retraite. A une semaine du second tour de l election presidentielle, elle dit qu elle ne votera pas pour Marine Lepen mais ne sait pas encore si elle votera par defaut pour le president sortant Emmanuel Macron.
France, Maubourguet (65), 05/04/2022, Annick B, divorced, 3 grandchildren, 65 years old, retired nurse

What does this place mean to you? It’s a return to nature, a return to the basics. Finance rules us and I want to return to simple values for the family globally speaking, without forgetting the elderly. What do you expect from the next President of the French Republic? I don’t know much about politics. I feel concerned about people’s daily lives. Continue...

France, Lézignan-Corbières (11), 21/04/2022, Nicolas RANDOVSKI, en couple, deux enfants, 58 ans, 
artisan indépendant
France, Lézignan-Corbières (11), 21/04/2022, Nicolas RANDOVSKI, in a relationship, two children, 58 years old, independent craftsman

What does this place mean to you?This is the travel section of the media library in Lézignan. Travelling means free time. Taking the time to live, to discover. My concern at the moment is retirement. I am 58 years old. I’ve had an atypical career during which I’ve changed jobs several times, with training courses in between, and therefore with big gaps in my pension contributions. I don’t even know at what age I will reach the full rate. I don’t know if I’ll still be fit to enjoy life and travel when I retire. When you’re a craftsman, with injuries, it’s a bit complicated. I’m not a reactionary, but it’s not like with some special schemes whose beneficiaries hold the power to demonstrate to be effectively retired at 50-55. What do you expect from the next President of the French Republic? As a craftsman, I think that Macron has done the job during the Covid crisis, in terms of social costs and aid. Continue...

France, Colombes (92), 03/03/2022, Stade départemental Yves du Manoir - Chérif GHEMMOUR, 58 ans, journaliste sportif, musicien et co-fondateur de So-Foot
France, Colombes (92), 03/03/2022, Stadium Yves du Manoir – Chérif GHEMMOUR, 58-year-old,
sports journalist, musician and co-founder of So-Foot French magazine

What does this place mean to you? Colombes Stadium represents one of the permanent features of the city where I was born and where I still live today. This monument dedicated to sport may have been the origin of my vocation as a sports journalist. In any case, this stadium is a bridge between the past (the 1924 Olympics, the 1938 Football World Cup) and the future (the 2024 Olympics). Now being spoiled, it will be destroyed and redeveloped to host 2024 hockey competitions. What do you expect from the next President of the French Republic? French presidential election of April 2022 has confirmed my vision of a blocked French society, Continue...

France, Paris 17, nouveau Palais de justice, 09/03/2022, Alice L., en couple, 2 enfants, 51 ans, 
avocate généraliste à dominante pénale
France, Paris 17, new courthouse, 09/03/2022, Alice L., in a relationship, 2 children, 51 years old, general practitioner lawyer with a focus on criminal law

What does this place mean to you? This monumental courthouse opened in April 2018. It is undoubtedly an architectural feat with a huge budget but in the same time represents the evolution of our profession: registries are now only accessible to lawyers by following a standardized authorization process. Access to hearings, although thy are public, is drastically controlled. The location of all similar hearing rooms is determined in advance, as at the airport. It is displayed on electronic boards in the entrance hall. This is the material embodiment of the dehumanization of our justice system. Continue...

France, Paris 15, Jardin Atlantique, 04/03/2022, François, célibataire, sans enfant, 58 ans, cadre de la fonction publique française
France, Paris 15, Jardin Atlantique, 04/03/2022, François, single, no children, 58 years old, French civil Servant executive

What does this place mean to you? It it the liberation of Paris, the end of Nazism in Paris. Jean Moulin united the resistance, was the creator of the Resistance National Council, he was the one who did not speak under torture and incidentally, a Bitterois, although I am originally from the Caroux region near Béziers through my French family. What do you expect from the next President of the French Republic? At this stage none. Because I don’t believe in the providential man or woman. According to me, the President of the Republic plays a key role in upholding the institutions and the national unity, Continue...

France, Paris 3, Square Saint-Gilles - Grand-Veneur - Pauline-Roland, 09/03/2022, Catherine B., célibataire sans enfants, 58 ans, commerciale salariée dans la décoration d’intérieure et micro-entrepreneuse dans l’immobilier
France, Paris 3, Square Saint-Gilles – Grand-Veneur – Pauline-Roland, 09/03/2022, Catherine B., single without children, 58 years old, micro-entrepreneur in real estate

What does this place mean to you? An undisclosed square away from the hustle and bustle of Paris. There is a healing calm here. I find nature refreshing and even if it’s artificial, chlorophyll remains chlorophyll and that’s always good to take. What do you expect from the next President of the French Republic? I lost my job during the first lock-down. When I was unemployed, I trained as a real estate sales agent, which led me to create my own micro-business. Since September I have found a full time job with a permanent contract which is much less paid than my previous jobs so I continue my real estate activity to make ends meet. My electoral expectations: I realize that I don’t expect anything from this election because the facts are stubborn and prevent me from believing in the political word. Continue...

Belgique, Région Bruxelles Capitale, Woluwe Saint-Lambert, 14/03/2022, Laurent T, marié, 1 enfant, 50 ans, fonctionnaire en disponibilité, Eglise Saint-Lambert
Belgium, Brussels Capital Region, Woluwe Saint-Lambert, 14/03/2022, Laurent T, married, 1 child, 50 years old, civil servant on leave, Saint-Lambert Church

What does this place mean to you? Being at the feet of the representation of Christ reflects what I, as a Catholic, feel when I come into contact with my Lord: transcendence, the unity of the creature with its creator, but also communion with all the members of the Church, the universality of the message of the Gospels. What do you expect from the next President of the French Republic? Ideally, I expect a Head of State to fully assume this singular and particular thousand-year-old history of the French Nation and to be able to accompany it at a time of increasingly complex and uncertain future. He/she must also be aware that he/she is only the custodian of something mysterious that goes beyond him/her. This is what one would expect from a King, a true Sovereign! But more prosaically, he/she should be able to gather the French around a unifying project so that an end can be put to this deconstruction dynamics and permanent destruction to which the current incumbent of Elysée Palace Continue...

France, Paris 14, rue de la Gaieté, Fabienne BOUTIER, mariée, 1 enfant, 57 ans, cadre dans un organisme gestionnaire de logements sociaux
France, Paris 14, rue de la Gaieté, Fabienne BOUTIER, married, 1 child, 57 years old, manager in a social housing organization

What does this place mean to you?For me, cafés and café terraces are places of exchange, of gathering, especially after the lock-downs we have experienced. And above all they are places of freedom for women. What do you expect from the next President of the French Republic? I expect the next president to take radical measures in terms of ecology and as regards the fight against climate change. This implies, for example, not not to bow to lobbies, to certain agrochemical lobbies that are against a ban on pesticides even though their use has been leading to the disappearance of bees in particular. Given the results of the first round, will you vote in the second round? Yes For Macron. Not out of conviction but to block the far right. What is your reaction to outgoing president Emmanuel Macron’s reelection? Regarding the election of Mr Macron, Continue...

auline P. is a sales agent in a organic honey factory.
France, Maubourguet (65), 31/03/2022, Pauline P, single, no children, 30 years old, sales manager in a company producing organic hive-related products

What does this place mean to you?This place gives me a feeling of calm and fulness. It allows me to refocus after a busy day. I tell myself that these trees have been here for hundreds of years, they have survived numerous trials and turbulent times, so why not us? What do you expect from the next President of the French Republic? I think it is a pity that ecology and environmental issues are not more central to election programmes. Given the results of the first round, will you vote in the second round? Ironically, I am one of the French voters who have been removed from the electoral roll without being informed, I discovered a few days ago that I am unable to vote until the legislative elections… I would like the citizens become engaged and united during this second round in order to block far-right. And I would quote Paul Valery: The world acquires value only through its extremes and endures only through moderation; extremists make the world great, the moderates give it stability ».

A story created in April and May 2022