The Japan Times - French content creators gear up to influence presidential election

Sam Zirah, with more than two million subscribers on YouTube, first made a name for himself by interviewing reality TV contestants, but now invites political figures onto his show.

He believes his interviews, which focus more on the guest's personal life, are "complementary" to those offered by major media outlets.

Municipal elections in March that were a curtain raiser for the presidential campaign gave voters a taste of what's to come for the role of stars on YouTube, Twitch, TikTok and Instagram in the 2027 vote.

Zirah interviewed Paris mayoral candidates and hinted he has since been lining up meetings with television groups ahead of the presidential polls.

His segments, including with the winner, Emmanuel Gregoire, dug into personal relationships and family tragedies.

"The personal is political," said the YouTuber, who is in his thirties, insisting that his interviews are nonetheless not softball.

In practice, however, content creators generally offer their guests longer formats and less aggressive questioning. The payoff is access to a younger audience.

More than half of under-25s cite social networks and video platforms as their main source of news, according to a survey by media regulator Arcom published in January 2026.

Two of the main contenders for France's top job are already embracing influencers and social media as part of their strategy.

Far-right darling Jordan Bardella of the National Rally (RN), who is barely in his thirties, is an internet native with a vast following in his own right.

His hard-left rival, Jean-Luc Melenchon, a veteran of French presidential campaigns and leader of France Unbowed (LFI), has fully integrated content creators into his communications strategy.

For Pascal Lardellier, a specialist in political communication at the University of Burgundy Europe, influencers will "play a fundamental role" in the presidential election.

In his view, they can "bring young people back to politics", especially those particularly prone to abstaining from voting.

- 'Cats or dogs' -

Traditional media outlets, also hunting for new audiences, are working more and more with young creators.

Public broadcaster France TV has been collaborating for several years with HugoDecrypte who, at 29, has 3.7 million followers on YouTube and 5.5 million on Instagram.

For the campaign, private television channel TF1 has already launched a series of political interviews coproduced with YouTuber Gaspard G, whose first episode, featuring Melenchon, aired in early April.

Melenchon, who never misses a chance to lambast traditional media, is reluctant to appear on television -- even though it was on TF1 that he announced his presidential bid.

In February he launched press conferences reserved for new media and influencers, which led to accusations that he was "filtering" journalists.

Influencer Anna Baldy, who analyses current events under the pseudonym Grande bavardeuse ("Major Chatterbox"), was among those invited to the press conference.

"We're not naive when we're invited somewhere," she said. Political figures "know it's the only way to talk to young people", added the recent university graduate.

She also believes that influencers, especially when they're just starting out, are more easily seen as manipulable than journalists from established outlets.

Baldy is thinking about how she will cover the 2027 campaign, but believes she will not interview candidates, an exercise she considers challenging.

"I don't think I'm mature enough to do it yet, and I don't feel like asking Jordan Bardella whether he prefers cats or dogs," she said.

- Alienation risk -

Bardella is so widely followed on social media that he has "himself become an influencer", said Lardellier.

The RN can also count on a network of influencers who relay its ideas, though others, like famous YouTuber Squeezie, had called for blocking the party in the 2024 legislative elections.

Speaking out carries the risk of alienating followers who vote differently, with Zirah and Baldy saying they do not plan to endorse any candidate.

A source close to one presidential candidate, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said recently the campaign was approached by a female influencer wanting to boost the election hopeful.

"Today, support like that is more important than that of a member of parliament," the source told AFP.

"Content creators and new media will be part of our strategy, on a level with an outlet like TF1."

Y.Kato--JT