Kay said that in France, 75% of OKCupid respondents said they would like to date someone who shares their political views over the past three years, compared with 56% in the US. Elsewhere in Europe, the figures were 73% in Spain and 67% in Germany.
This also explains why France, where traditional centrist parties have all but disappeared from the political map, is the only EU country with a dating app targeted at single-camp supporters: right-wing dating platform Droit aux Coeurs advertises itself as “uniting women and men who are proud of our country and share the same values.”
Apps aren’t the only ones emphasizing and promoting the separation of romance and politics: In Brussels, the NGO Fossil Free Politics organized a Valentine’s Day event called “Don’t Kiss a Lobbyist,” based on the British slogan “Don’t Kiss a Tory” used by Conservative politicians and opponents.
Easier said than done
Can you bring up politics in the bedroom?
Georgia (not her real name), a professional in her 20s who lives in Brussels, tried to do just that with a former long-term partner, going so far as to call for a moratorium during the 2020 US presidential election, in which Joe Biden is facing off against Donald Trump.
Georgia, who is half American, explained that tensions and arguments arose whenever her then-boyfriend, who worked for a far-right member of the European Parliament, spoke out in support of the right-wing firebrand. “For me it was very personal, but he just watched it from afar,” she said.
