Germany lowers voting age to 16 ahead of European elections

FRANCE 24 English

Visit our website: http://www.france24.com  Like us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FRANCE24.English  Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/France24_en

Transcript

00:00Voting can also be learned in the classroom.

00:04At this school, civics lessons are given to all 16-year-olds

00:08who will be taking part in the European elections for the first time.

00:12The aim of the course is to help them understand what is at stake in the elections.

00:17It's exciting and it's your first time. A lot is at stake.

00:21It's great that we have the right to take part in this election.

00:25It gives me the feeling that I can make a difference,

00:27whereas usually it's the older people who decide.

00:32At 16 you can work, you can leave home if you want to,

00:35so the least you can do is also decide your political future.

00:40What does a ballot paper look like? What is the European Parliament for?

00:45For these pupils, the campaign has so far taken place on social networks,

00:50where the far right is particularly aggressive.

00:54It's very unusual to see all these parties taking to social media in recent times,

00:59but it's true that the far right AfD party is everywhere online

01:03and they really know what buttons to press.

01:08The course is not necessarily designed to encourage them to vote, that's their decision,

01:13but we aim to give them the tools to analyse and filter everything.

01:20By lowering the voting age from 18 to 16, Germany gains 1 million first-time voters compared to 2019.

01:27It's an important pool of voters and explains the increasing number of events aimed at young people,

01:33as this minister and European Commission representative notes,

01:37particularly as Germany and the other four countries that allow people to vote from the age of 16

01:42could pave the way for others.

01:44If lowering the voting age is a success in Germany,

01:47and it shows that young voters are really getting involved and using their ballots,

01:51then it could perhaps inspire others in the EU.

01:55Over 5,000 German schools are currently offering courses for first-time voters.

02:00Mock elections are scheduled the week before the actual European polls open in early June.

Category

Transcript

Recommended