France ahead of the European elections
Right-wing populists on the rise
On 9 March, President Macron's ruling Renaissance party officially launched its European election campaign. The election campaign kicked off under the impression of the current polls, which show significant gains for the right-wing populists in France. The question is whether this trend can still be reversed by the election date on 9 June 2024.
Three months before the European elections, the French are particularly concerned about purchasing power and rising food prices. At 55% and 52% respectively, these two issues dominate the concerns of the French and will therefore be decisive for the 2024 European elections. This set of issues also includes the topic of agriculture, which has gained significant momentum with the farmers' protests at the beginning of 2024. Immigration and security are in third and fifth place respectively, which is likely to play into the hands of right-wing populist parties in particular. The war in Ukraine, which only concerned 18% of French people at the end of 2023, appears to have returned to the focus of the French population as a result of the Ukraine aid conference in Paris and the public disputes about France's involvement. In February 2024, 23% of respondents described the war in Ukraine as a key challenge and as significant for their own voting decision in the European elections.