The mayor from the North is trying to convince young people to register on his city’s electoral roll

Young people, who are underrepresented in local elections, are a challenge in 2026. The mayor of Capinghem in the North has found a solution to address this.

The 107th Congress of Mayors of France was held at the exhibition center in Paris, from Tuesday 18 to Thursday 20 November. This is the last election before the next regional elections in March 2026. The conquest of political parties, the jobs crisis… There are always topics that need to be debated. There is also the question of the position of young people, who are underrepresented.

At the town hall of Capinghem, a town of 2,800 in the Lille agglomeration, in the North, the 30-year-old mayor who is about to end his term, Vincent Ducourau, is holding interviews to try to convince young people to join his list. For Marie-Charlotte, this was probably the easiest job interview of her life. “I would be very interested if you joined this adventuresaid the city’s mayor. This is very good because you are young and you are a trader.”

The mayor approached him a few weeks ago, while he was working on his food truck in Capinghem. For the next city election, he wants to add five elected officials under 35 to his list. So let’s start the negotiations or rather the seduction operation: “The municipality is a place where you can achieve something. It’s so fun, it’s even one of the favorite mandates of elected officials in France”said Vincent Ducourau.

This 22 year old trader believes: “It’s a pleasure to join you. I’ve always dreamed of entering the world of politics.” That same morning, the Mayor continued with a second interview. This time Amélie, 25 years old, was looking for work after studying at business school. This summer, he sent his CV to Vincent Ducourau asking for help. Finally, he contacted her again for the municipal elections but Amélie liked him too: “I wrote my dissertation on citizen participation in the region, so this was the perfect opportunity to get involved in a more concrete way.”

It’s been a fruitful morning for Vincent Ducourau. In France, in 2023, only 14% of city councilors will be under 40 years old. Bringing young people into politics is not easy and for him, it depends on the mayor: “We saw very clearly that these were two people who would never have thought to ask me to sit on the city council, but at the end of the day they were very motivated. It’s that little fire that you have to light because sometimes it’s complicated to write a letter to your mayor.”

“If we rest on our laurels and wait for people to come up and introduce themselves, we almost always have the same profile.”

Vincent Ducourau

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“Politics is of interest to these two young women and I am very happy about it,” concluded the Mayor. It would also be nice to have a list for the next election that is more representative of the municipality. Currently in Capinghem, the town council is mostly made up of retirees while two-thirds of the population is under 45 years old.