In 2017, the French political class experienced a small revolution. After decades marked by the ever more pronounced presence of career politicians in positions of power, the country elected a new President with limited experience. And in the aftermath of Emmanuel Macron's victory, an unusual legislature was elected. Rejuvenated, feminised, it was also made up of more than a hundred complete political novices.
In
The Candidates
, author Étienne Ollion follows an ethnographic journey among these new MPs, while drawing on massive digital data analysed with artificial intelligence methods. The result is a gripping story about their discovery of this peculiar world, which sheds lights on pressing contemporary debates about democratic rejuvenation.