At just 18, Noélie feverishly counts the weeks that separate her from the first round of the presidential election.
"I'm sure that once in the voting booth, I will be very moved," says the young girl, who says she is very emotional, with a smile.
The impatient will not miss this moment for anything in the world.
"It's really important to go to the polls: it's a way of expressing yourself, every vote counts. I don't forget that when my grandmother was born, women were not allowed to vote in France".
Voting, however, is not a practice rooted in family tradition.
"My mother has consistently abstained and my father has always voted white."
The young student, in the first year of modern literature at the Sorbonne, who spent her childhood moving according to the changes of her mother, a college principal, has also chosen to go further in her civic approach.
Since June, she has become an activist within Generation Z, the youth team that supports Éric Zemmour in his campaign.
"I really liked the positions taken by the intellectual when he was on television. And when I heard the rumors of a possible presidential candidacy, I knocked on the door of the organization to find out how I could be helpful."
We are many dynamic and highly mobilized teams to support Eric Zemmour.
🚀🇨🇵#JeNeSuisPasUnRobotEtJeSoutiensZemmour pic.twitter.com/RmokPpA80w
— Marie Durand (@MarryDrnd) February 3, 2022
Fear of downgrading
Since then, the young activist, more convinced than ever, tows and sticks tirelessly.
She sometimes unrolls banners for the collective "Women with Zemmour", sometimes for "Generation Z".
Coming from a left-wing family, the young member of Reconquête!
however, has always felt more receptive to ideas from the right.
"But until then, I couldn't find a candidate who really embodied my ideas. Valérie Pécresse represents everything I hate on the right: a candidate who is not in tune with her speech and who advocates an economic liberalism in which I don't recognize myself. And Marine Le Pen has completely changed course. Finally, the more I learn about Éric Zemmour, the more I am comforted in my choice."
Originally from the rural world, with working grandparents who experienced the slow deindustrialization of the Moselle mining basin, the young activist is above all sensitive to the speech in favor of the campaigns carried by the far-right candidate.
In particular the exceptional bonus of 10,000 euros that Éric Zemmour wishes to allocate to each new birth in a family “from rural France” to compensate for the costs of transport, childcare, or housing.
More generally, the young woman recognizes herself in this France described by the candidate who feels downgraded.
"I have the impression that the school no longer manages to ensure the social ascent that existed in the time of my grandparents. Today, I feel that I can only regress."
Noélie alongside her candidate, Éric Zemmour.
© Noélie's Twitter account
Pray "very hard"
Moreover, the student who was planning to become a teacher for a time, no longer knows what profession to exercise later.
Intoxicated by the presidential campaign, she does not rule out working one day in political communication.
Even if politics can be violent.
"We often get insulted when we tow. Some have even taken blows. It's hard. It takes real moral strength. But I still think it's worth it, because I'm convinced that It can change people's lives."
In the meantime, Noélie already knows what she will do on election day.
Coming from an atheist family, the one who became a practicing Catholic late in life, will go to church and pray "very hard" for her candidate before joining the other young activists to celebrate the results.
"Even if we don't win, we have made so much noise that we can no longer ignore our ideas."
Next objective for the young activist and her new friends: to obtain a maximum of seats in the legislative elections.
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