TikTok Becomes a Candidate "New Battlefield" in the Countdown to the Hundred Days of French Presidential Election

[Text/Observer Qi Qian] The first round of the French presidential election in 2022 is scheduled to be held on April 10, less than a hundred days ago.
Candidates from all political parties have made great efforts to win the election.
On this occasion, the social media TikTok, which is increasingly popular among young people in France, has become the "new battlefield" of the election.
Screenshot of French media report The French media "France 24" reported on the 9th that since 2020, TikTok's popularity in France has soared, and young people have become loyal users of the application.
As the presidential election in April is approaching, the presidential candidates of French political parties are also increasingly active in TikTok.
The report cited data that TikTok now has more than 6 million visitors in France every day, 75% of whom are under the age of 24.
French President Jacques Makron has not yet said whether he will participate in the election.
In addition, the candidates for the presidential candidates of all political parties have been made clear.
On December 4 last year, the French Republican Party nominated Pecres as the party's presidential candidate, which means that all the candidates of the mainstream parties have been settled.
Among them, the Socialist candidate (now mayor of Paris) Hidalgo and Le Pen, the candidate of the National League, also received much attention.
In addition, the left-wing "unyielding France" party candidate Mei Langxiong and the far right independent candidate Zemur have also announced their participation in the presidential election.
Except for the Socialist presidential candidate Hidalgo, all the above-mentioned presidential candidates have registered accounts in TikTok to interact with voters.
From left to right, they are far right independent candidate Zemur, Socialist candidate Hidalgo and Republican candidate Pecleres.
In July 2020, Makron released his first TikTok video.
In the neatly manicured garden of the Elysee Palace, Ma Kelong, dressed in a suit, congratulated the high school students who had just obtained the final exam results.
Less than 24 hours later, Mei Langxiong, the candidate of the "unyielding France" party, also joined TikTok.
Different from the same serious Makron, Mei Langxiong's style is more relaxed.
He often quotes the lyrics of popular songs to satirize himself and Makron and other election opponents.
According to French media, 70 year old Mei Langxiong is considered to be the "emerging" presidential candidate in French politics.
Makron TikTok has 2.8 million fans, and Mei Langxiong's "hard work" has gained a lot.
Up to now, among all the presidential candidates, Makron is the most popular, with 2.8 million fans and more than 18 million likes;
Mei Langxiong also has more than 1.1 million followers and 9.6 million likes.
In addition, Zemur, a far right independent candidate known as the "dark horse" in the political arena, also gained a lot of support on TikTok.
Paul Smith, associate professor of French political science at the University of Nottingham, said that although nearly one third of TikTok users in France may be under the voting age, this also means that the other two thirds of users can vote, "and the number of these groups is up to millions".
"This will be a very close election, and the existence of social media is absolutely crucial