Heloise Goy with Alexis Patri
On the occasion of February 14, the youth section of President Emmanuel Macron’s party, La République en Marche, created profiles on the three dating applications Tinder, Grindr and Bumble. The objective of these profiles is to encourage young people to vote for the presidential election on April 10 and 24.
They want to fight young people’s lack of love for the ballot box. The “Youth with Macron” movement, stemming from La République en Marche, is taking advantage of February 14 and Valentine’s Day to launch itself on the dating apps Tinder, Grindr and Bumble. On these three platforms, political activists have created their own profiles, visible to all users. Profiles that are not branded LREM, but are illustrated with sensual photos and captions to encourage young people to vote in the presidential election.
A conversation solely focused on politics
Among the captions on the photos of these profiles, users can, for example, read “Come match with democracy”. If Tinder, Grindr and Bumble users connect with these profiles, LREM activists start a purely political conversation, through questions about voting participation or procedures for making proxies.
The “Youth with Macron” movement announces that it will remain active on these dating sites until March 4, the deadline for registering on the electoral lists. The first round of the presidential election will take place on April 10, the second round on April 24.