Nice-Premium went to check the pulse at the Saint-Jean d’Angély university center. First impression: the campus center is calm. It’s afternoon. The weather is not ideal. Students are either in class or at home. They do not linger around. The only real presence: students distributing flyers. Their mission: to convince of the importance of voting. The twelve candidate lists agree on two points: the lack of resources and the necessity to vote. Well, almost all agree. Quentin of the Union des Etudiants de France deplores the attitude of a representative from one of his opponents: “In an amphitheater, a student had passed by to call for voting for his list. Nothing abnormal except that at the end he called to vote for him or not to vote at all. I find this very serious at a time when we are encouraging all young people to vote, to be citizens, to express themselves, at a time when presidential candidates seem to be interested in our issues. Of course, I called to vote for UNEF but I also emphasized the importance of voting.”
A second impression that confirms Quentin’s words: all the organizations mingle in front of the polling office set up on the first floor of the Fac. They talk to each other, forgetting their political differences. UNI, a pro-Sarkozy right-wing union, supportive of the involvement of businesses within universities, and UNEF, a left-wing union favoring 100% public management of universities, stand side by side with the same goal: to get out the vote. The explanation is necessary, always and yet again. Nicolas from UNI spent all Tuesday doing just that: “Students are poorly informed. They can’t figure out what it’s for. The university has put up posters. We are present today on all UNSA campuses. We sometimes set up on campuses offering orange juice to establish a dialogue. We can’t do more.” Quentin adds: “UNSA sent a letter to each student specifying the voting date but likely due to lack of means did not include the candidate lists’ manifestos. It does not help students get excited about the elections.” Romain from Fac+, a student federation, has a different concern. His ballots at the TC of Cannes were not placed alongside the other 11. They were only put out at 11 a.m. Also an issue at Saint Jean d’Angély: “The ballots were hidden. The posters say: not voting harms democracy. With what happened with our ballots, it’s rather: voting harms democracy.” He calms down, regains his composure to analyze the participation he estimates to be low: “The elections come late in the year. It’s actually the year that ends too early.” The federation takes this opportunity to meet students, listen to their needs. Evenings organized throughout the year have funded flyers and posters. Their approach is different from UNI or UNEF, less political even if it inevitably happens when presenting before voters.
At 4 PM, when classes end, the polling office is swamped. The single makeshift voting booth is not enough. The organizers report a 100% increase compared to last year but still a low turnout at only 10%. The official results will appear Tuesday evening or Wednesday morning. Nicolas, Quentin, and Romain will continue their awareness efforts until Thursday, the day of the Crous election.
[Complementary website with the candidate lists’ manifestos](https://portail.unice.fr/jahia/page7051.html)
