In France’s election young people are all over the map

“SHE’S THE best!” declares Adrien, a 20-year-old student, cradling a French flag. He is waiting in the winter sunshine outside a trade hall on the outskirts of the cathedral town of Reims, where a rally for Marine Le Pen is about to start. “Before making decisions,” explains Adrien, “she asks people what they think, how they live, to find the best solution to their problem.” Alexandre, a fellow student, agrees. The nationalist-populist candidate at April’s French presidential election, he adds, is focused not only on “braking mass immigration” but also on the cost of living. As for Emmanuel Macron, the president, “We detest him.”Young French voters, like those in many countries, seem set to vote differently from their elders. Yet in France the split is not simply that youth are more liberal and retirees more conservative. One surprise is the enduring popularity of Ms Le Pen among the young. Only 8% of over-70s say they will back her, according to Ipsos, a polling group. Her share of the vote among under-25s is double that.