Popular education and youth : VoxPublic alongside Francas for the 2026 municipal elections

Context

The National Federation of Francasmakes public statements on the occasion of each election (presidential, legislative, regional, municipal). For Francas, « it is on a liveable planet and in a democratic, fraternal, inclusive, educational and emancipatory society that children and adolescents can best develop and become accomplished citizens. »

The municipal elections in March 2026 represent a particularly important moment, given the territorial presence of Francas, to defend their project in terms of popular education, access to knowledge, local youth policy and the promotion of children’s rights.

The National Federation of Francas

The National Federation of Francas is an association founded on 15 November 1944. It is recognised as having public utility, approved as a youth and popular education association, and approved as a complementary educational association for public education. Today, it comprises 83 departmental and territorial associations and 12 regional unions.

Shared vision

Les Francas and VoxPublic share an emancipatory vision of collective participation in political life for all residents without discrimination, with the aim of promoting democratic values.
This partnership aims to strengthen the capacity of Francas activists to take hold of these issues through local political advocacy and mobilisation, particularly in the run-up to the 2026 municipal elections.

Objectives of the partnership

• Enable Francas to be visible and recognised by candidates and the media during the 2026 municipal election campaign, and enable departmental associations to promote the campaign with a view to mobilising the Movement.
• Equip Francas activists to present the association’s proposals to municipal election candidates.
• Consolidate a culture of political engagement based on ‘capacity building’.
• Participate in the promotion of democratic values through a collective learning approach among association members, focusing on awareness-raising and internal training.

Action plan

VoxPublic is committed to supporting Francas in the following areas :

1. Strategic support for municipal advocacy
• Assistance for the formalisation of a platform of political demands for municipal elections on youth, children’s rights, access to education and support for popular education initiatives.
• Support for the development of a collective monitoring system on issues relating to childhood and education.
• Co-production of strategic notes on local political issues and electoral dynamics for national teams and activists/employees in the regions.

2. Training and capacity building for activists
• Design and facilitation of a training session on interpellation of elected officials and developing a local political message.
• Support for reflection on forms of mobilisation adapted to local realities and political forces.
• Contribution to the design of a training module which allows to educate young people on the importance of voting and the political issues at stake in municipal elections.

Calendar

This partnership is taking place between August 2025 and the municipal elections in March 2026. It could be extended in view of the 2027 presidential election and legislatives, by capitalizing on the tools, methods and dynamics initiated in this first phase.