Maybe you're despairing of political developments in your home country, perhaps you are applying for French citizenship and want to look keen - or maybe you simply feel that France is your home now and you want to get more involved in politics or social issues.
So, who can vote?
First the bad news. Only adult French citizens can vote in the country’s presidential and parliamentary elections. Citizens of an EU country, meanwhile, can vote in European elections – either in their own country, or in France – and local elections.
If you’re neither French, nor European – and this includes Britons who do not have dual British-EU country nationality – you cannot vote in France.
READ ALSO A voté: How to register and cast your vote in France
What about standing in a political election?
To the surprise of no one, if you can’t vote, you can’t stand. That means EU citizens can stand for office in local elections in France, but are barred from becoming mayor or running for a seat in the Assembly. Non-EU citizens cannot stand at all - if you have kids in a French school you could stand in the election to be a parent representative, but that is, for the moment, the limit to your political ambitions.
However France has no rules about birthplace, so if you become a French citizen you can stand for any position you like, up to and including president.
So foreigners in France cannot be politically active?
Even if you can’t stand for a political position, you can still join a French political party. The only requirement is that you are tax resident in France. Membership fees of and financial contributions – up to a maximum of €7,500 per year per person – to a political party are tax deductible.
You have to declare ‘on your honour’ that you are not a member of another French political party in France.
How active you are then is up to you. You can take part in debates, help distribute leaflets at election times, put up posters and organise meetings.
You don’t need to join a party
Politics doesn't, however, only take place through parties - you can also become a member of a campaigning organisation – from major international groups, such as Greenpeace or Amnesty International, or national organisations such as Secours Populaire, to smaller regional or local associations.
Some will be directly involved with politics at a range of levels. Some may simply allow you to help people at a local level. Make no mistake: this, too, is a political act.
As JRR Tolkein had Gandalf say in The Hobbit: “It is the small everyday deeds of ordinary folk that keep the darkness at bay. Small acts of kindness and love.”
Visa issues
Be aware, however, that in France there is a difference between the terms benevolat and volontariat.
Those looking to do occasional volunteering – perhaps helping out at a soup kitchen a few times a month – are considered bénévoles.
These are non-contractual volunteers who assist an organisation in their spare time. The French government does not give this type of volunteering any legal status or protection: the work is unpaid and it is not full-time, but may still have tax benefits. These activities are seen as part of one’s vie privée (private life).
Being a volontaire, however, is a contractual commitment. The French government considers it to be contractual and exclusive. Volunteers typically receive some form of stipend or living allowance - before taking on a role like this you will need to check that your visa/residency permit allows it. Some types (such as the 'visitor' card and visa) do not allow people to work.
A titre de Volontariat is a temporary residency permit specifically for non-EU nationals who want to volunteer in an official, contractual status with a French NGO. The volunteer's day-to-day job should involve some social or humanitarian purpose.
Protest
Protesting is, according to witty consensus, the national sport of France.
But the point of protesting is to get a collective voice heard, when it might otherwise be ignored - whether that's on huge global issues like feminism or climate change or more local issues.
In the past, protests have won concessions from governments, and forced politicians to think again. There is no reason to think it might not work in the future - and even if it doesn't, it's good for the soul to join with like-minded people to make your voice heard.
Protest is not confined to loud marches in Paris that descend into violence, or tyre-burning blockades. Since 2007, cercles de silence have been regularly staged in protest against the confinement of undocumented immigrants in France. It can take the form of letters to officialdom, or legal challenges to planning or other matters.
So, if there is something happening in France that you feel strongly about, you can do something about it.
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