A French Lavender Vote ? The Influence of Sexuality, Experiences of Discriminations and Political Attitudes on Voting Behaviour in the 2024 Legislative Elections

The radical right is enjoying significant electoral success in France. Against this backdrop, the notion of a “shift to the right” among LGBTQIA+ people (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex, asexual, and others) is frequently raised. In this paper, we propose examining the specificities and diversity of LGBTQIA+ individuals' electoral preferences in the 2024 French legislative elections, factors that influence these preferences. Several studies have highlighted that, due to their different social experiences, homosexual, bisexual, transgender and non-binary individuals sometimes exhibit different electoral preferences and political attitudes. We argue that, to understand the electoral choices of LGBTQIA+ individuals, the unequal affirmation of belonging to the community and the varying salience of sexual orientation-related issues must be considered. Our empirical analyses are based on data from an online post-election survey conducted from 9 to 16 July 2024. The survey sample was representative of the French population, comprising 5,109 people. Using several self-identification questions, we isolated a subsample of 497 people who identified as homosexual, bisexual, transgender or non-binary. Firstly, we show that LGBTQIA+ voters exhibit diverse electoral preferences, even when compared to the rest of the sample. Secondly, we present evidence that this diversity in voting preferences among LGBTQIA+ respondents is linked to their gender, whether or not they have experienced discrimination and their political attitudes.