What changes in France in 2024 in politics and elections?

There will be some changes in the political landscape in 2024 as the UK prepares for a general election, the EU for European Parliament elections, and the US for the presidential elections. We look at how this will affect people living in France.

Register to vote in UK elections

British citizens who have lived abroad for more than 15 years will be able to re-register to vote even if they have never voted before, under a new system to be introduced on January 16.

However, the window to register with the new system is short: people are advised to do so before the end of January to be eligible to vote in the UK general election, which could come in spring.

Further information should be available in the course of January, via: gov.uk/register-to-vote.

Campaign group British in Europe plans to continue its work lobbying and informing about this change.

Read more: Details released on how Britons abroad can re-register to vote in UK

Other Britons, who still have their voting rights, because they were previously registered in a UK constituency before leaving less than 15 years ago, can already register.

US elections

Elections will be held on November 5, 2024, to elect the US president. All seats in the House of Representatives are also up for election, as well as part of the Senate.

Americans in France should request an overseas ballot. Some states require postal voting, while others allow ballots to be returned by email, online uploads or fax.

US expatriates are also being urged by the Association of Americans Resident Overseas to support six bills which could make life easier for them.

European elections

The main election in France in 2024 is May’s European Parliament elections, with 81 seats up for grabs.

The European elections have previously been fertile ground for Marine Le Pen’s party, the far-right Rassemblement Nationale (RN).

However, this year her party will have to contest the rural vote with a new party, the Alliance Rurale, or Rural alliance.

The elections will be held on June 9, open to French and EU citizens only.

France-UK relations

School visits from France are to be made easier, with the UK now set to accept children with ID cards as opposed to passports (as before Brexit) and to accept children on school trips who are of nationalities which would usually require a visa to visit the UK post-Brexit.

Complications have previously been reported to The Connexion, post-Brexit, with some French schools abandoning traditional trips to the UK.

The British embassy also reported to us that officials were looking at rules on young people from France completing voluntary work placements in firms in the UK under the VIE scheme.

After 2023’s France-UK summit it was stated that a commission would look into cooperation on education, seeking to make trips and exchanges easier and improve opportunities for language learning.

The countries also said they wanted to open up “dialogue on mobility”, referring to easier movement between the two.

The UK is to be guest of honour at a French forum for the cultural and creative industries this year.

There will also be events to mark the 120th anniversary of the entente cordiale agreement signed on April 8, which improved relations between the countries so much the term has been remembered ever since.

This is set to include a Franco-British literary prize; ‘Magnetic’, an artists’ residency scheme between the UK and France, and a programme called ‘Lumière!’ to oversee joint cultural initiatives.

A new partnership between French and UK museums is also being set up.

European Political Community

The European Political Community, an initiative launched by President Macron to bring countries of the continent of Europe closer, will hold its fourth summit in the spring, in the UK.

Read more: EU court to rule on Briton's right to vote in EU elections