Les protestants et la politique

The IFOP used data extracted from a number of surveys conducted between June 2003 and November 2004 to compile a report on the sociology and the political position of Protestants in France.
It is particularly remarkable that the sociological and demographic differences between the Catholics and Protestants are disappearing. On the other hand, the political gap remains large as Protestant electorate votes mostly for the left-wing and the extreme left-wing compared to the Catholics.
The ideas of ecologist parties are more appealing to the Protestants. However, the extreme right-wing’s influence is equally felt in these two types of population even though the Union for the Popular Movement (UMP) is less represented among the Protestants.

An information remains significant : the diversity of political inclinations according to the different regions. Protestants from Alsace and the eastern region, who subscribe to the National Front (the extreme right-wing movement) are three times more that those living in big cities. However, the eastern region also has more protagonists of the Green Party and ecology than the rest of the country.
This can be partly explained by socio-cultural and historical facts. One must also take into consideration the sociological diversity of regional protestant communities. The significant presence of the National Front in the Eastern region is undoubtedly related to the high number of industrial workers. In the southern region, the Protestant inclination to vote for the right-wing parties may also be linked to the aged population. People living in big cities are likely to vote for the left-wing parties as they are much younger.