“Loss of hope”, “Liar political parties” … You explain to us the reasons for your (future) abstention

Every five years, rebelote. When the end of the five-year term dawned, the “first party of France” entered the campaign. However, it is far from being structured. In its ranks: no membership card, political line and even less program. A few months before the presidential election, the question of abstention worries the candidates and mobilizes elected officials to try to find solutions. Why do some people refuse to vote? 20 minutes gave the floor to its readers to find out the reasons that push them to abstain.

“As said Coluche : “If voting changed something, it would be forbidden for a long time”, dares our reader Christian. It is the elite who vote and not the people, so let’s take advantage of our Sunday in the countryside, ”he quipped. Marie-Andrée is quite simply fed up “of seeing the politicians not respecting the program on which they were elected”. A feeling shared by Virginie: since the last elections – for which she, for the first time, decided not to slip her ballot into the ballot box – she believes that “voting every five years to give a blank check is not is absolutely enough ”.

Newcomers to abstainers

Julien also admits having lost all hope in the weight of his bulletin and the next presidential election will be, for him, a great first as an abstainer. He judges that the candidates are interested in the French only at the time of the elections. “The rest of the time, they don’t care about us. “

A lack of confidence shared by Sylvain, who will not vote “for the first time in over twenty years”. In question ? A political offer that does not suit him. “The candidates of the” big “political parties are usually liars and never respect their commitments, except those which harm freedom, fraternity and equality […]. The irruption of a Zemmour as a candidate should set off the alarm bells! It is improbable, but it is not … “

They shun the ballot boxes for a long time

“Why travel for men or women who have no idea of ​​our problems and our life? “Asks Anne. This reader, abstainer for ten years, considers that the electoral results “do not change anything” in her daily life. Same thing for Bruno. Moreover, it has been 16 years since he went to the polls. It was the “no” in the referendum on the European Constitution of 2005 and the subsequent adoption of the treaty by the Parliament that definitively disgusted him and alienated him from politics. “In my eyes, France is no longer a democratic country”, he summed up categorically.

Whether they have abstained for a long time or whether they intend to take the plunge for the first time in 2022, our Internet users share a deep mistrust of their political representatives. Virginie, for example, tells us that she is “very disappointed” in the face of the lack of candidates “sincere and involved in the real life of the French”. She could resolve to vote if one of the contenders for the Elysee “speaks of the real problems and above all offers us real solutions”, in particular on “the hospital, the public school, the police and purchasing power. “. Same story with Thomas: “What would make me change my mind is a personality who has courage, authority and above all who gets out of the sectarian logic of parties by taking care of the needs of the people. French. “

What could make them change their mind

Like her, some voters do not rule out voting in the future under certain conditions. This is the case with Pierre, for whom today “the political offer no longer has any meaning. We are the opposite of what a democracy should be ”. What could make him change his mind? “A presidential candidate who proposes to register the citizens’ initiative referendum (RIC) to modify the Constitution […]. It would breathe new life into democracy! »He is not the only one, among the many testimonies received by 20 minutes, to have referred to the flagship claim of the “yellow vests” movement.

Facilitating the modalities of the election, with for example the possibility of voting by Internet or by mail, is also one of the solutions that could convince some of our readers to speak in 2022. You were also numerous and numerous to indicate that better consideration of the blank vote could make you return to the polling stations. Guillaume explains to us that he will return to vote “the day the abstention is recognized and counted”. In this case, suggested by our Internet user, it would then be necessary to organize a new ballot. Some testimonies plead in favor of a proportional vote or the establishment of compulsory voting. So many measures which require a law and which cannot be implemented by the first round of the presidential election.

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