European elections rarely arouse the enthusiasm of voters in France, with participation rarely exceeding 50%.

The fault lies with a European Parliament deemed distant by voters and whose role is not always well understood.

However, the stakes in the elections which will be held from June 6 to 9 are high.

With this user guide, France 24 allows you to understand how the upcoming election works as well as the role of MEPs.

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  • Why will the vote take place over several days?

The European elections take place from June 6 to 9, 2024. In France, elections are traditionally held on Sunday and the European vote will therefore take place on Sunday June 9 – except for the inhabitants of Guadeloupe, Guyana, Martinique, French Polynesia, Saint- Barthélemy, Saint-Martin and Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon, as well as French people established on the American continent who will vote from June 8 due to the time difference.

But not all European countries have the same electoral traditions, hence the European elections being spread over four days.

The Netherlands will open the ball on Thursday June 6, followed by Ireland and the Czech Republic on Friday June 7 and Latvia, Malta and Slovakia on Saturday June 8.

The remaining countries (Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Croatia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden) will vote on Sunday June 9.

On the other hand, for reasons of fairness, all the results will be revealed on the evening of Sunday June 9.

The Dutch will therefore have to wait more than three days to know the results in their country.

  • How many MEPs will be elected to the European Parliament?

In June, Europeans will elect 720 MEPs who will sit in the Strasbourg Parliament for plenary sessions and in Brussels for committee work and additional sessions.

Their number is currently 705 due to the departure, in 2020, of the 73 British MPs.

These had been partially replaced by the allocation of 27 new seats to other countries.

The 2024 elections will result in an addition of 15 additional seats.

The number of MEPs per country is distributed proportionally according to their demographic weight.

Therefore, Germany (96 MEPs), France (81), Italy (76), Spain (61) and Poland (53) will be the countries most represented in the European Parliament, while Estonia (7 MEPs), Cyprus (6), Luxembourg (6) and Malta (6) will be the least represented.

Also read: Bardella, Glucksmann, Hayer: who are the main French leaders in the European elections?

  • How are deputies elected and by whom?

European elections take place every five years by direct universal suffrage in one round.

Deputies are elected proportionally.

In most countries, parties present a list with as many candidates as MEPs to be elected.

Thus, political parties in France must present lists of 81 candidates.

Countries are, however, free to set a threshold necessary to obtain elected representatives.

This is set at 5% in France.

Concretely, this means that a list gathering only 4% of the votes does not obtain any MEP.

Other thresholds are applied elsewhere (4% or 3% or even 1.8% in the case of Cyprus), while 13 Member States do not set any.

Europeans vote in their country of residence, but must respect the minimum age, which differs depending on the State, to be able to vote.

Set at 18 years in most countries, including France, it is 17 years in Greece and 16 years in Germany, Austria, Belgium and Malta.

  • Which political groups in Parliament?

Once elected, MEPs are distributed among the political groups of the European Parliament.

A minimum of 23 MEPs from at least 7 member states are required to form a group.

There are currently seven: The Left (radical left, 37 elected), the Greens/European Free Alliance (ecologists and regionalists, 71 elected), the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats (social democrats, 140 elected), Renew Europe (liberal right, 102 elected), the European People's Party (conservative right, 178 elected), the European Conservatives and Reformists (Eurosceptic conservative right, 68 elected) and Identity and Democracy (far-right nationalist, 59 elected).

Added to these groups are the non-registered – there are currently 50 MEPs who are not members of any political group.

See alsoFrançois-Xavier Bellamy: “Ursula von der Leyen largely contributed to weakening Europe”

  • What do MEPs do?

Jointly with the Council of the European Union, MEPs debate, amend and vote on the legal texts proposed by the European Commission.

They also establish the annual budget of the European Union and control its use, and decide on international treaties and enlargements of the European Union.

MEPs are also distributed within 24 specialized committees (Employment and Social Affairs, Agriculture and Rural Development, Fisheries, Women's Rights and Gender Equality, etc.).

Finally, the elected representatives of the European Parliament elect their president as well as that of the European Commission on a proposal from the European Council.

They audition the European commissioners and validate their appointment by a single vote.

If a commissioner is rejected by the deputies, the vote is then postponed.

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