The video sharing app has surged in popularity in France since 2020 especially among under 25s. Presidential candidates are seeing engagement on the platform soar as they court young voters ahead of the April election.
Dressed in a suit and tie, President Emmanuel Macron posted his first TikTok video in July 2020. From the manicured gardens of the Elysèe Palace, he congratulated high school students who had just received their final exam results.
Less than 24 hours later, political opponent Jean-Luc Mélenchon, leader of the far-left France Unbowed (La France Insoumise), joined him on the platform. Striking a different tone, Mélenchon stood on the street outside République metro in Paris and played for laughs, poking fun at himself and the president by quoting lyrics from French R&B singer Wejdene.
In 2022, the social media network is now becoming a new battleground for the next presidential election.
Along with Mélenchon, confirmed candidates Valérie Pécresse (right-wing candidate for Les Républicains), Eric Zemmour (far-right, independent candidate), Marine le Pen (far-right candidate for Le Rassemblement National, or National Rally) and Yannick Jadot (candidate for Europe Ecologie Les Verts, or Green Party) have all joined TikTok in the past year.
They are not the only newcomers. A surge in use in 2020 has propelled the platform towards becoming one of the most popular apps in France in a remarkably short space of time.
Five years after it launched in 2017, TikTok now has more than 6 million visitors per day in France, all scrolling through short videos aiming “to inspire creativity and bring joy”, according to the company mantra.
Dance routines, quirky stunts and humour, often set to music or an audio clip, are ubiquitous and reel in a predominantly young audience, with 75 percent of French users aged under 24, according to…
Source : france24
