The divide is no longer along political lines, but between those with opportunities and those who feel disregarded
The decisive round of the presidential race in France revealed it to be a deeply fractured country. Just as the Brexit referendum laid bare the UK’s divisions, in France we now have two electoral blocs characterised by opposing geographic and sociological profiles.
The gap between them is first of all generational, since Emmanuel Macron attracted 70% of the votes of the over-65s and 68% among 18- to 24-year-old voters. These two groups share a common trait: neither has a significant active presence in the labour market.
Jérôme Fourquet is director of opinion at Ifop (Institut français d’opinion publique) and author of La France sous nos Yeux
