French Prisoners Cast their Vote in the 2019 European Elections: An ad hoc Analysis of their Electoral Choices and Political Attitudes
| Published date | 01 December 2020 |
| Date | 01 December 2020 |
| Author | MARTINE HERZOG‐EVANS,JÉRÔME THOMAS |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1111/hojo.12391 |
The Howard Journal Vol59 No 4. December 2020 DOI: 10.1111/hojo.12391
ISSN 2059-1098, pp. 505–530
French Prisoners Cast their Vote in
the 2019 European Elections: An ad
hoc Analysis of their Electoral
Choices and Political Attitudes
MARTINE HERZOG-EVANS and JÉRÔME THOMAS
Martine Herzog-Evans is Professor of Criminal Law and Criminology, Law
Faculty, University of Reims, France; Jérôme Thomas is Lecturer in
Communication Sciences, Technological Department, University of Reims,
Troyes, France
Abstract: France belongs to a group of jurisdictions wherethe vast majority of prisoners
retain their right to vote, but where it remained difficult to exercise this right until a
March 2019 Act unexpectedly allowed them to vote via a booth and ballot box for the EU
parliamentary elections. This article analyses their participation and political choices at a
national level. It further presents the result of an ad hoc study conducted in three prisons
which explored prisoners’ political culture, their interest in political life, their perception
of the political challenges and contemporary questions, and their political convictions
and values. Our general findings are that prisoners only partially differ from the general
population regarding their political choices. At a deeper level, the findings also show
that prisoners have more ‘political capital’ than politicians assume. We conclude with
comments on the untapped potential this holds for their reintegration into the community.
Keywords: political capital; prison; prisoner disenfranchisement; prisoner en-
franchisement; prisoner vote; prisoners’ rights
Introduction
In 1981, Bourdieu coined the concept of ‘political capital’ (Bourdieu 1981).
However, Bourdieu essentially referred to political parties, institutions,
and political professionals. Contemporary authors have gradually clarified
Bourdieu’s concept of political capital. Offerlé (2016) and Neveu (2013)
thus state that political capital belongs to the larger category of ‘symbolic
capital’, also coined by Bourdieu (1980), that is, the coming together of
economic, social, and cultural capital. Yet these authors also link political
capital to political professionalisation. More recently, Bondi and Rizopou-
los (2017) suggest that ordinary citizens may also possess political capital.
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2020 The Howard League and John Wiley & Sons Ltd
Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd, 9600 Garsington Road, Oxford OX4 2DQ, UK
The Howard Journal Vol59 No 4. December 2020
ISSN 2059-1098, pp. 505–530
Additionally, Matonti and Poupeau (2004) analyse their political capital as
including, on the one hand, ‘activism capital’, and on the other hand, ‘po-
litical culture’. However,they do not sufficiently specify how to define polit-
ical culture in such a way that would fit prisoners’ potential political capital.
Such narrow definitions of political capital do not fully encompass what is
at stake when prisoners become invested in political debates, intense news
consumption, and the desire to participate in elections. In this article we
propose a reconceptualisation of Bourdieu’s political capital as including
any person who: (i) has been through parental socialisation, or through
inclusion in the wider society, to be attached to this prosocial and partici-
pative behaviour; (ii) is participating in political debates either in the public
domain (for example, public debates in city halls) or at home with friends
and family members, and possesses both the skills and the knowledge to
engage in such debates; (iii) keeps up to date with political news by read-
ing newspapers, and by consuming news or political content via television,
or the Internet; (iv) spends time and energy in these activities; (v) believes
that keeping informed, debating, and participating in elections are con-
ventional activities loaded with social values.
Strikingly, thus reconceptualised, political capital has a lot in common
with Hirshi’s (1969) theory of social control, which is specific to the individ-
ual concerned, that is: attachment; commitment; implication; and belief.
Inevitably, then, the question that arises is whether society has any-
thing to gain by encouraging such attachment, commitment, involvement,
and beliefs among inmates? From the standpoint of social control theory,
such inclusion and, by implication, strengthening prisoners’ political cap-
ital would make sense and may well facilitate their desistance from crime.
So far, though, no empirical evidence has supported this assumption.
What is the Position of European and Other Western World Jurisdictions in this
Regard?
Comparative policies regarding prisoners’ political rights reveal public
opinion differences. Currently, the world is still divided into different
attitudes (Ewald and Rottinghaus 2009) which is reflected in contrasting
legislation (Ispahani 2009). Some countries, such as Great Britain, believe
that inmates exclude themselves from society by committing offences,
and no longer deserve to participate in important decisions. It is, there-
fore, compatible with democratic ideals to exclude them from the polls
(Manfredi 2009). In the context of several European Court of Human
Rights (ECtHR) cases, the United Kingdom also argued that not being
able to vote would encourage prisoners to become law-abiding individuals.
Specifically,other jurisdictions believe that prisoners should be included
in political debate and the social contract (Easton 2009). We would addi-
tionally argue that prisoners have to suffer the consequences of political
decisions at least as much as the rest of the population and should have a
say in the matter.
The United Kingdom was condemned by the ECtHR in Hirst v. United
Kingdom (2005), and later in McHugh and others v. United Kingdom (2015) for
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2020 The Howard League and John Wiley & Sons Ltd
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