Time to « youth up » French politics !
words by Lucie Daniel
In December, I attended my first « Youth up ! » training in Paris, together with 20 other young people and youth workers. Based on a workshop conceived by the European Youth Forum, participants explored ways to facilitate youth participation in policy and decision-making. Having freshly become Youth Coordinator in my association, I was eager to exchange ideas and explore news ways to « youth up » French political life.
During the discussions, my group had quite a debate on the issue of affirmative action: Are young people facing a « glass ceiling » in politics, as did women in decision-making? Should we introduce youth quotas, or a system where each candidate is paired with a younger candidate on electoral lists? How can we prevent such initiatives from turning into some form of tokenism?
Working in a feminist association, I saw an interesting parallel that I thought deserved to be explored. We eventually proposed to introduce more incentives in the school curricula to learn how to get involved in associations, along with the idea of ineligibility periods between mandates in order to renew decision-makers and ensure they are not disconnected with citizens’ everyday lives and realities.
Overall, 13 concrete recommendations came out of the various group discussions, including banning multiple mandates, a citizen’s monitoring process to assess the work done by decision-makers at the end of each mandate, or the introduction of a training on « how to create an association » in the school curriculum. (You can support our ideas by clicking here).
Of course, in the aftermath of the regional elections in France, youth absenteeism in elections was brought up (an estimated 65% of 18–24 old did not vote*). But, as some participants emphasised, French young people do get involved in public life. They do it in different ways than the older generations, with a willingness to « feel useful » and to « take concrete action ». And associations happen to be one of their favourite means to get involved, ahead of unions and political parties**. Reflecting upon this workshop, I think it proved that there is a huge potential for youth mobilisation, and I tell myself: let’s respond to it!
Lucie Daniel is Youth Coordinator at Le Planning Familial
In the first round. Source: Ipsos-Sopra Steria for France Télévisions (see http://www.francetvinfo.fr/elections/regionales/elections-regionales-qui-sont-les-abstentionnistes_1209285.html)
* Indeed, more than 1 in 3 young people (18–29 years old) is member of at least one association today in France and 66% of young people (16–30 years old) trust associations in improving their future. Source: Les jeunes plus engagés dans la vie de la cité, INJEP, 2011.
