The petition is useless... really?

Of course, the most obvious answer to the question of whether petitions really serve a purpose is the number of victories.  

In 2021, at MesOpinions, there were 108 victories. This means 108 authors, who thanks to their petitions managed to make their voices heard and see their fight through to the end. These victories cover all types of struggles, both local and national, and all categories of petitions.

The real common point among these authors is that they did not give up and took their petitions as far as possible until achieving victory

Here are some examples of great stories:

Recently, a woman who had taken in a wild boar was stripped of her custody by the prefecture. After creating a petition on MesOpinions and mobilising over 76,000 people, Woody was returned to his owner. This petition generated over 20 media mentions which surely also contributed to the petition's victory. 

This other petitionallowed a young girl to stay and work in France. It was her employer who created the petition after Adama received a deportation order. 18,000 people signed the petition in support of Adama, and the prefect of Manche revoked the deportation order. 

These two recent victories are just examples among many that we receive daily. 

If you want to see more, you can find them in the victory section. 

The petition, a true voice for the people

Even if victory is not guaranteed, the petition can still have value. Not least because it gives a voice to those who might not have taken it in any other way. A true voice for the people, the petition often helps attract media attention to an issue. Things can sometimes take time to change; petitions contribute to raising awareness among the public and decision-makers. For example, you can read the testimony of Sylvie Robache, who describes how she managed to highlight the issue of Levothyrox. Beyond having succeeded in bringing attention to a subject that few knew about, she managed to create solidarity among patients who discovered they were not alone in their concerns. Just for that, this petition achieved victory in its own way. 

And this example is far from being an isolated case; we read daily beautiful stories like this. They also help to bring to the attention of political decision-makers the everyday difficulties that citizens may face. In this way, they are important for democracy. 

However, for this to work and for the petition to have real value, the author must also mobilise on their side, to give their petition the means to reach victory. 

A very effective tool but not magical!

The petition is a tool for mobilization; it is not magical, and simply launching a petition online will not be enough to make things change. Its success is in your hands and depends on what you do with it. It’s up to you to make it known! 

Depending on the goal you want to achieve, it will need to reach a significant number of signatories (which is not the same if your petition has a local or national dimension)

The key is to C-O-M-M-U-N-I-C-A-T-E!  All means are good: social networks, seeking influencers willing to share your petition, reaching out to associations that share your fight, distributing flyers with a QR code linking to your petition… 

The goal is to talk about it as much as possible, so that it reaches a sufficient number of signatures to make your fight credible and audible to your recipient.    

All good things come to those who wait

Timing is also important, and it may take time before you achieve victory. Some petitions can take several years to come to fruition, and that’s okay. It may simply be because it wasn’t the right time when you launched it or because things don’t change easily. This is especially true if your fight involves legislative change. Depending on the period, the majority in power, or the lack of awareness of the issue, decision-makers may take time to engage with a subject; sometimes you need to be persistent. You can also try contacting other decision-makers you may not have thought of to help you in your fight. To clarify who the right person to contact is, we have written this article summarising the competencies of the various local authorities in France.  

If you have any questions or need support before launching your petition, do not hesitate to contact our author support team at [email protected]