Presented at AFSP (Lyon, June 30 - July 2, 2026, ST 48 "Toward new uses of digital media in electoral campaigns?"), this talk follows 41 French political YouTube channels (16,424 videos, 1.17 M political sentences, 7 M comments) across three first-order electoral sequences. The YouPol pipeline measures, on the same channels and within them, how a campaign reshapes thematic agendas, mobilises audiences, and connects production to opinion.
Campaigns politicise modestly, far-right side only

Within-channel effect of the campaign window pools at +1.43 pp on the far right (p = 0.006), against +0.72 pp on the left and statistically not distinguishable from zero. The space with room to politicise is the one the ballot pulls.

National campaigns refocus the agenda on institutions rather than on identity

Democracy / institutions lifts in every estimable national column (+5.4 / +1.9 / +3.2 pp on the far right; +5.4 pp on the left in 2022). Immigration is stable or declines, including −2.5 pp on the far right in 2024 (p < 0.05). The identity register does not surge with the vote.

Inter-electoral migration rise rather than a campaign hardening

Piecewise trend break in January 2023 (p < 0.001): the migration share climbs +4.04 pp from 2022 to 2024 within channels. But the ethnic-nationalism score does not follow (+0.08 σ, n.s.); the migratory register tilts toward public-policy vocabulary (OQTF, visas) rather than toward "great replacement".

The audience politicises with the agenda

Comments under campaign videos are +0.71 pp more political on the far right (p < 0.001) and +1.27 pp on the left. The themes that most mobilise commenters (democracy +13.5, nationalism +7.3, immigration +6.6) are precisely those that dominate the campaign agenda. Agenda and reception answer each other.

YouTube and electoral campaigns in France - AFSP 2026
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AFSP Congress 2026 French Political Science Association, Lyon
YouPol project Data, code, and replication materials