Polls predict that France's far-right National Rally Party (the Rassemblement National) is on a path to win the snap parliamentary elections called by President Emmanuel Macron after the European elections earlier this month. Voting will take place in two rounds, on June 30 and July 7 2024. 

Much has been said about how political parties have been reorganising as a result: notably, how Socialists, Greens and Communists have put aside their differences to form a ‘New Popular Front’ (Nouveau Front Populaire). But the cleavages at stake are not just between parties, they are also between voters and the political class. This explains the appeal of the extremes such as the far right, but may also be seen in the growth in protests and civil disobedience movements around ecology, pension reform, discrimination, and racism. These have been met by increased police repression under the Macron government.

In this episode of Who is Voting in 2024?, we will focus on the latter. How is French civil society mobilizing to turn anger, fear, and hope into a political force that can make its way to the ballot and counter the rise of the extreme right? 

Podcast co-host Laura Bullon-Cassis, Postdoctoral Researcher at the Albert Hirschman Centre on Democracy (AHCD), is joined by Sarah Durieux, former director of France’s change.org platform, and Co-Director of the Multitudes Foundation. She is also the author of the book Changing the World: an Activist's Toolkit to Take Power.

This episode was recorded in the context of the project "Youth Climate Activism and Local Institutions: Reframing Democratic Spaces at a Time of Polarisation" hosted by AHCD.