A new investigation from VoxPublic illuminates that while France can be seen as exemplary for its stringent regulations of campaign finance and political ads, the country is not immune to the far-right shift taking place across Europe. Social media algorithms may play a role in this radicalisation.
Major Wins for the Far Right
As in many European states, the French far-right has found a major foothold in recent years, resonating with voters through emotional appeals touching on immigration and other hot-button issues. In the 2024 European Parliament elections, the far-right won 35 seats out of 81, representing the largest share of seats compared to competing coalitions. This can partly be attributed to the fragmented French media landscape, the decline of quality journalism, and social media platforms typically favouring polarising content in viewers’ feeds.
Social Media’s Influence Under Strict French Campaign Rules
Although online political advertisements are banned in France during official campaign periods, social media continues to exert significant influence. Political figures often maintain large followings, allowing them to engage with the public and indirectly influence the campaign narrative. However, despite Facebook’s status as France’s leading social network and its role as a key platform for political mobilisation, only 14.6% of respondents reported engaging with election-related content on Facebook during the 2022 campaign.
With stringent oversight of both official and covert political marketing, authorities aim to preserve election integrity, making major violations of the advertising ban rare and less expected. This tight regulatory framework creates a unique environment where political figures rely on organic engagement rather than direct ad campaigns to reach their audiences.
Limited Use of Facebook Ads, but the Far-Right Leads the Way
According to a VoxPublic investigation, French political parties generally adhered to the campaign period advertising ban, with political ads on Facebook playing a minor role in their strategies. Since 2019, parties have spent just €300,000 on Facebook ads, a small fraction of their overall campaign budgets. The National Rally (RN), a far-right party, has been the main producer of political ads on Facebook, as figures like Marine Le Pen and Jordan Bardella leverage their large social media followings. Given the polarising nature of social media algorithms, it’s likely that far-right parties will continue to have an easier time reaching audiences—both organically and through paid ads—than their moderate counterparts.
About The Research Project
The research paper by VoxPublic was prepared as a contribution to the project ‘Electoral Integrity and Political Microtargeting: An Evidence-Based Analysis in Six EU Member States’, coordinated by the Civil Liberties Union for Europe (Liberties). The research project monitored online political advertising in the run-up to the 2024 European Parliament elections in six EU countries: Bulgaria (BHC), France (VoxPublic), Germany (Reset Tech), Hungary (HCLU), Poland (PAF) and Spain (Xnet), supported by Who Targets Me (WTM) as technical partner. The project relied primarily on data collected during the European Parliamentary elections campaign from political advertisements promoted on Facebook by political entities. Researchers scrutinised whether political actors follow national campaigning rules and European data protection rules by examining data voluntarily donated by citizens through a privacy-friendly desktop browser extension. The project was co-funded by Civitates and the Open Society Foundations.
Resources
VoxPublic’s research brief (English)
In Conversation with VoxPublic, France | Election Monitoring Talks
More resources from the Project
Who tries to influence your vote on Facebook?
Bulgaria’s 2024 EP Elections: From Problematic Targeting Techniques to Regulatory Gaps
