Kendal, 19, cares about politics like his first pair of crampons.
But since March, this young man from Sarcelles (Val-d'Oise), in training as an electrician, has not missed any intervention by the Head of State on television, between two games of football on the Play.
“What he says directly concerns our lives,” he explains.
He's the one in charge!
"
Does this detail in Kendal's confined life conceal part of the explanation for the astonishing result of the annual barometer of young people's confidence, which we unveil?
According to this study, conducted by the polling institute OpinionWay for the association of studies on education and youth Vers le Haut (
survey carried out from October 26 to December 3, with three representative samples: 1001 young people aged under of 26 years; 1,030 parents of children under 26; 400 business leaders
), the confidence of 16-25 year-olds in elected officials of the Republic, at all levels of power, has jumped by 15 % in one year.
Out of the representative sample of 1001 young people, interviewed between October 26 and November 10 at the initiative of this center-right think tank, they are now 39% to rely on politicians to "defend their interests" .
That's 11% more than their parents.
A clear break from previous years, “to be linked to the degree of concern of young people about the virus.
They are also very docile in the face of the constraints imposed on them ”, remarks Marc Vannesson, general manager of Vers le Haut, who sees in this fifth barometer“ a return to legitimacy and safe-haven values ”, which also benefit schools and the business world.
Interview with Brut
Even shaken by the health crisis, the first to suffer the constraints of confinement and its psychological and material effects, the 18-25 year olds were 45% to pass a favorable judgment on the action of the Head of State, according to the Ipsos barometer of November, compared to 37% in the general population.
“There is no doubt the need to tell oneself that at the top of the state, people know what they are doing.
This is not necessarily the announcement of a lasting reconciliation ”, tempers Chloé Morin, political scientist associated with the Jean Jaurès foundation, classified on the left.
Simon, 17, in his first year of bachelor's degree in maths and physics, rather belongs to the young defiant in the face of power - they remain a majority.
"To be satisfied with saying like Macron that it is hard to be 20 years old in 2020, it is a little weak", tackles this Parisian, whose heart beats on the extreme left.
He nevertheless "appreciated" that the Head of State "went to give interviews on the Internet, where the young people are".
He finds “the government's PowerPoint on the Covid quite pedagogical, well done.
It's not crazy, but there are things that have been successful in terms of form ”, concedes the young man, for whom“ the problem is the substance: what are they doing for us?
"
The effect of a quadra chair
Quietly, the positioning of youth in the face of politics is shifting.
The barometer, for the past five years, has seen the confidence of young people rise slowly but surely in their ability to find a place in the arena: 38% consider it rather easy for them to gain political responsibilities.
The image effect of a young quadra President can play, according to Chloé Morin.
"He carried the story of a younger man, entered by force into the system, and close to the reality of start-ups to which part of the youth aspires", analyzes the political scientist.
Sociologist Albert Ogien, researcher at the Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales (EHESS), also sees it as a fundamental movement.
“After years of finding the political world disgusting, there is a real shift in the world of youth, who say to themselves that it is by taking the institutions that things will change, especially in terms of climate issues, extremely important for this generation, ”he notes.
This specialist in global protest movements examines with interest the institutional rise of young association leaders, such as the Frenchwoman Marie Toussaint, who became a Member of the European Parliament (EELV).
A kind of trajectory "which is no longer seen by young people as a betrayal", notes the sociologist.
Unwavering confidence in the future
Another lesson from this annual barometer from the think tank Towards the top, “No future” will not be the slogan for those under 26 this year.
The epidemic does not change anything, 74% of young people remain optimistic about their future.
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While the generation of sixty-eight grandparents wanted to "ride the snake" with the Doors, Hajar, 20 years old in 2020, is working to "tame the uncertainty".
This student, currently in civic service at Enactus, an association promoting social entrepreneurship, tries to see the health crisis as an opportunity "to learn resilience".
Hajar, a student, works to “tame the uncertainty”.
LP / Yann Foreix
“It's not a quality that you learn with a peaceful life.
If later I get to the job of my dreams and get laid off, for example, I will be able to bounce back better because I will have already faced improbable situations, ”explains this Nantaise.
Does she believe in her future?
She does not ask herself the question, "otherwise there is no point in living".
Like her, 16-25 year olds continue to believe in their future, almost as much as before the coronavirus which, basically, only added a (thick) layer to a layer of uncertainties.
According to the annual Vers Le Haut / OpinionWay barometer, 73% of young people think their life meets their expectations, and 74% say they are rather optimistic about the future.
“Confidence resists,” notes Marc Vannesson.
“Among their parents, mistrust is picking up quite strongly, but for their children, the fall is only 3%.
We could have imagined a more important dropout, especially since the level of concern of young people about the health crisis (6.3 / 10) is barely lower than in the rest of the population (6.6 / 10) .
"
A return of affection for institutions
Mathis, a bachelor's degree student in Paris, sees the health crisis as a bad moment to pass.
Even if he lives the period "with the impression that we are amputating our best years", he says he is ready to "sacrifice another month or two;
if I can be sure that then we can remove our masks and come out as before ”.
In this courage displayed by youth, another trend emerges: a return of affection for institutions, starting with school.
Three-quarters (76%), for example, trust him to learn fundamental knowledge, and to promote personal development (55%).
Two figures up 6%, which can be explained by the time when the study was carried out, shortly after the wave of indignation sparked by the assassination of Samuel Paty, but also by this conviction of the usefulness of the school forged when she was no longer there, during the first confinement.
Likewise, and surprisingly, as unemployment is on the rise again, and clouds are piling up on their professional prospects, young people are today a third (33%) to think that companies trust them.
This is 13% more than five years ago.