European Parliament: France not Sufficiently to the Fore

On 7 June 2009, the French – like the other citizens of Europe in that same month – will be going to the polls to elect their “Euro MPs” or, in other words, their direct representatives in the European Parliament for the next five years. There is a strong possibility that the turnout will once again be very low and/or that the voting will be influenced by national rather than European issues.
This lack of interest in the European elections arises, as Jean-François Drevet shows here, out of the general attitude of French politicians, who do not exactly throng to stand as Euro MPs or who, when elected to the European Parliament, involve themselves little, or not at all, in their parliamentary activities. It is also the product of the desperate lack of information in the French media about current European political matters. As this column demonstrates, this is highly regrettable, since it contributes to further reducing the influence of France in the institutions and decisions of the European Union. And this is all the more unfortunate as the European Parliament is about to see its powers strengthened. The time seems to have come to take a fresh approach to these elections, but, for that to happen, both the candidates and the media would have to play their part.