“
I'm so nervous!
","
There is uncertainty
".
Two days away from the American presidential election, American expatriates in France fear a poll that promises to be as particular as it is tense.
Traditionally, Americans have had low voter turnout rates.
In 2016, 61.4% of voters voted.
The participation of expatriates is even much lower, mainly due to the complexity of the process for voting from abroad.
According to US government data, only 7.3% of the 169,000 US citizens domiciled in France and of voting age took part in the presidential election in 2016. This year, however, like their fellow citizens on American soil , it would seem that expatriates, whose vote is traditionally democratic, are mobilizing more.
For many, the goal is simple: to prevent Donald Trump from being re-elected.
Read also: US presidential election: what we learn from previous elections
At 37, Virgil Eaton, originally from the state of New Mexico and expatriated in Paris since January, has voted only twice in his life, each time against Donald Trump.
“I voted for the first time in 2016 for Hillary Clinton not to have Donald Trump elected.
[...] This year I voted for Joe Biden and I would say it is the most important ballot of my life because Trump was such a horrible person.
He has been horrible on the European stage, he insulted the European leaders and all the traditional allies of the United States, and he wants us to withdraw from NATO.
No other president has acted in this way ”
.
For his part, Allyson Pereyra, 26, originally from New York and living in Marseille for four years, is voting for the first time.
Blocking Donald Trump was a necessity for her.
“When I was young, I was not invested in politics and I did not know the power of a vote.
In 2016, I arrived in France and I had not succeeded in doing an 'absentee ballot' [postal vote, note], I was lost and I did not know how to do it.
But this time it had to be done, ”she
explains, adding that she voted for Joe Biden.
However, neither Virgil Eaton nor Allyson Pereyra seem to be entirely convinced by the Democrat.
Moreover, the young woman prefers to specify that she voted for "
Joe Biden-Kamala Harris
".
“
I was going to vote Biden anyway so I wouldn't have Donald Trump for four more years, but I felt a lot more comfortable when Kamala Harris joined Biden.
She is a woman of color, invested in questions of justice.
It's a little better than just voting Biden against Trump.
But my first choice would have been Bernie Sanders [candidate for the Democratic primary, editor's note],
”she said.
For his part, Virgil Eaton feels he has had the choice between "
two old white candidates who have been accused of sexual assault
".
“
I'm not a fan of Biden, he's extremely old, older than Trump.
I don't like the way he puts his arms around women and breathes their hair.
But I want us to have a more reasonable American culture.
Biden is not the answer to that but I think he can bring us closer to it,
”he explains.
Read also: US Presidential: Biden votes in his stronghold of Wilmington, Trump crisscrosses America
The voters of Joe Biden indeed underline his less provocative and more consensual attitude in politics.
When Vanessa Biard-Schaeffer, 45-year-old Franco-American from Texas and supporter of Donald Trump, speaks of "
style
" to qualify the behavior of the American president, the voters of Joe Biden speak of "
national embarrassment
", according to the words of Virgil Eaton.
“
He's the most dishonest politician.
I just want a president who is able to speak properly and have dignity,
”he said.
Certain remarks made by Donald Trump actually pushed American expatriates to vote against him.
Of Latin origin, Allyson Pereyra criticizes him for a lack of humanism.
“
He has said and done a lot of things in the past that contradict my values.
Especially when he separated children from their parents [at the Mexican border, note].
He also created hatred towards the Latino community by saying that they took jobs from Americans when in fact they took jobs that others didn't want to do.
It's weird that a person doesn't have a heart like that,
”says the young woman, who also denounces sexist and misogynistic positions in Donald Trump.
A country divided by crises
It is also the way in which the American head of state handled the various crises, in particular those which made the news of 2020, which convinced many expatriates to bring their voice to Joe Biden.
The racial crisis first.
All are exasperated by police violence against black Americans and call for rapid change.
“
A new black man was killed by police in Philadelphia a few days ago.
Police reform is very important and Donald Trump shows no interest in it,
”said Virgil Eaton, who lived for several years in Philadelphia.
However, it is the management of Covid-19 that concentrates the criticisms of the majority of expatriates in France.
“
Trump tends to ignore the Covid.
If he is re-elected he will continue to ignore it and there will always be more deaths.
Biden will take this more seriously and he will focus on science, he will not replace science with politics,
”says Mike Slone, originally from the state of Maine and resident of the French Riviera since 2012.
Read also: In Florida, Trump praises the economy, Biden attacks him on the pandemic
According to opponents of Donald Trump, these crises have dramatically divided Americans.
“
The country is totally divided.
More than before.
Before, we were divided, but in a different way.
We were respectful and grateful to each other.
Donald Trump has created hatred in the United States.
Racist and homophobic people who were hiding before are no longer hiding
, ”denounces Allyson Pereyra.
“
The United States is more of what it was before.
When my parents emigrated, it was the 'American Dream' and now it's not anymore.
I am a little ashamed of my country at the moment.
When I introduce myself, I get less and less the answer 'oh so good you're from New York, can we switch countries?'.
Now it's more 'oh you're from the United States, wow!'
», She adds.
The young woman, who introduces herself first as a "
New Yorker
" before
calling
herself "
American
", also admits to "
not understanding people who wear a 'Make America Great Again
"
hat
.
“
It doesn't mean that I don't like them, but I don't understand them,
” she explains.
In terms of Covid, Joe Biden's supporters also point to the division of the Americans.
“
I don't understand why it has become so political.
People who vote Democrat tend to be pro-masks while those on the right do not wear masks.
It's different in France: wearing a mask does not reveal political affiliations!
», Wonders Virgil Eaton.
On the side of the supporters of Donald Trump, less numerous among expatriates in France, on the other hand, we defend the president's crisis management and we temporize the division of the country.
On the issue of racism, Vanessa Biard-Schaeffer declares that “
the black and white divide is a false divide to turn people against each other
”.
As for the Covid, the one who is also a member of the “
Republicans Overseas France
” association affirms that “
Trump has tried to preserve the economy and the freedom to exercise.
[...] I think that the Americans mostly agree to recover their freedom.
There is no division on this main point
”.
An internationalized vision of the campaign
Despite their differences, American expatriates seem to have a more global and internationalized view of the American countryside.
All are thus interested in the international relations of the United States, which concern less the Americans living on the national soil.
On the side of opponents of Donald Trump, the speech held denounces "
the American-centered decisions
" of the president.
“
Biden is much more internationally focused.
He has already said he will return to the treaties that Trump withdrew,
”says Mike Slone.
Conversely, the support of the Head of State welcomes a policy "
more reassuring on the international level
".
“
One achievement of Trump and his team's tenure has been to get American soldiers repatriated.
It is the first time in a long time that there has been no declared war.
We do not talk about it in the French media, but the Americans are exasperated by the number of conflicts.
This is also one of the reasons why I voted Trump in 2016,
”explains Vanessa Biard-Schaeffer.
Read also: Joe Biden's victory could give Boris Johnson a hard time
Living in France also inspires many expats on certain models that could be exported to the United States, both in terms of form and ideas.
Allyson Pereyra is thinking in particular of the French health system.
“
Before living in France, I didn't pay attention to the health system.
When I arrived here, the first thing I got, before my residence permit, was my vital card.
I was proud to have access to this level of care!
[...] When I got injured, I didn't want to go to the hospital because in the United States, if we don't really need to go there, we don't go because it costs expensive.
I expected to pay for the drugs and no, I was shocked!
», She says.
“
Health is a right, not a business.
In the United States, it's seen as a business,
”adds the young woman.
Mike Slone evokes the American political system, which he now considers unsuitable.
“
What I don't like about American politics is that there are mainly only two parties.
We're stuck in this political system and I'm afraid it won't work anymore.
In France, there are several parties which can be successful.
I think the French system better represents the people,
”he says.
“
In the United States, he's always a Republican or a Democrat.
A green candidate could never be elected as in France,
”adds Mike Slone.
Virgil Eaton, for his part, evokes the presidential voting system, in which the candidate who wins the popular vote is not always elected.
“
I don't like the Electoral College.
Grand voters don't have to follow what the popular vote says, which I think is ridiculous.
[...] The last time I voted for Hillary Clinton.
She won the popular vote but she was not elected so I have the impression that my vote does not count
, ”he says.
Vanessa Biard-Schaeffer qualifies these remarks and recalls "
that there is a logic to that
".
“
In the United States, the logic is that the states are represented and not the people because it is a federation,
” she explains.
Only one subject seems to bring American expatriates in agreement: the French media treatment of the elections.
All agree that the French media are more favorable to Joe Biden.
“
The French media tend to be more anti-Trump and pro-Democratic or anything but Trump,
” says Mike Slone.
Vanessa Biard-Schaeffer says nonetheless: “
The French press echoes the American Democratic press and repeats.
There is just a minority who try to take a more critical look.
[...] The French media are caricatures, pro-democrat and primary anti-Trump.
But not all
”.
Mike Slone puts forward a hypothesis to explain this phenomenon: “
Outside of the United States, everyone has a bad image of Trump because he is little brutal on the international scene by withdrawing the United States from many treaties.
But we must not forget that about 50% of Americans love Donald Trump!
".
To read also: "Seen from elsewhere" N ° 25 - American election: between Trump and Biden, the European press has chosen its camp
While American expats have a habit of meeting to monitor election results, lockdown will make any meeting impossible this year.
Everyone will then learn the news in the early morning.
"
I will not sleep much during the night of 3 to 4
", admits Vanessa Biard-Schaeffer.
However, many are expecting final results later than expected.
"
I'm afraid we won't know the results for several days or weeks,
" concludes Mike Slone.
