This article provides a sociological analysis of the candidates standing in the 2024 European elections in France. Based on an analysis of a biographical database of the 20 leading candidates on the main lists, supplemented by data on all MPs elected in France since 1979, press articles devoted to the campaign, and interviews with outgoing elected representatives, this analysis highlights the resources that ultimately promote high rankings on the main lists. After identifying three candidate profiles using geometric data analysis, the article emphasises two important factors: the balance between candidates with substantial political capital and those with less, and the balance between party officials and individuals from civil society. While the EP increasingly represents a path to political professionalisation for party executives, it also increasingly does so for candidates with no experience in professional politics.
Publisher keywords: European elections, European Parliament, France, Selectorate, Sociology
