During the last European elections, in 2019, only 27% of 18-24 year olds registered on the electoral lists and 36% of 25-34 year olds went to the polls (IFOP-Fiducial survey). These figures, although low, already represented an increase of more than 10 points compared to the previous election, in 2014. While the French are once again called upon, on June 9, to elect their European parliamentarians, the challenge of participation is once again at the heart of the debates.
This did not escape Fabienne Servan-Schreiber, the director of Cinétévé, the production company behind the series. Parliament, whose three seasons describing the inside of the European machine in Brussels – broadcast since April 2020 on the France.tv platform – have fascinated seven million viewers. This convinced Europhile wanted to make her contribution.
Parliament is these days getting in tune with the electoral calendar through eight thirty-second videos which use the visual, stylistic and sound codes of the series to encourage those over 18 to vote on June 9. The main characters (Samy, the neophyte parliamentary assistant who became a political advisor, Michel Specklin, the outdated MEP, etc.) appear in skits which end with a clear message: “Vote!” »
A way of extending the spirit of the series, created by screenwriter and director Noé Debré, born from desire, believes Fabienne Servan-Schreiber, “to bring Europe into the imagination of the general public through fiction”. Comedy, dramatic issues and touching characters make the European Parliament a setting just as thrilling as the White House or the court of Louis XIV at Versailles.
Transmitting the European message
Realized thanks to the persistence of Fabienne Servan-Schreiber, the idea for this unique campaign came from Jean-Marc Lieberherr. Grandson of Jean Monnet (1888-1979), one of the “fathers of Europe”, This 57-year-old businessman created the institute in 2021 which bears the name of his illustrious ancestor. Transmitting the European message to younger generations is one of the fundamental objectives of this organization, financed mainly by donations and which has around a hundred active members. “Youth has been at the heart of the European project since its origins, he insists. When my grandfather set about implementing this great idea of building a new world on the ruins of war, he immediately surrounded himself with thirty-somethings who shared this ideal. »
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