amargarone772

[amargarone772]

Expert Interview: Discussing France’s Political History and Current Events with Professor Elizabeth Carter

https://www.unh.edu/unhtoday/expert/carter-elizabeth

  The following interview is an interview conducted with Professor Elizabeth Carter, Assistant Professor of Political Science at the University of New Hampshire. Carter has been a member of the UNH faculty since 2015, and has received her PhD in political science at the University of California Berkeley as well as her M.P.A from the University of Washington. Her postdoctoral research was done at the Max Planck Institute of the Study of Societies in Cologne, Germany. Carter’s areas of focus are European politics, political economy, and food politics.

         Carter provides insight on France’s history and the Front National Party. She also examines the current refugee crisis, the political system under President Macron, and the yellow vest movement that has been taking over France since last November. Carter discusses the media’s role in Macron’s presidential election, and compares the current day issues of France to those of other European nations and the United States. Carter’s educational background and personal affiliation with France provide her with the ideal qualities to discuss these critical topics.

         We also discussed the Front National Party under Jean-Marie Le Pen, whose goal was to protect French identity and defend the fundamental values of our civilization (Betz, 2003, p. 196). In the past, immigrants coming to France were able to assimilate easier because they mainly came from other European nations (Betz, 2003, p. 197). However, most new immigrants came from African, Middle East, and Asians regions and had cultural backgrounds that the Front National claimed would threaten the French culture (Betz, 2003, p. 197).

 Interviewer: Ali Margarone, senior Communication student at the University of New Hampshire

Interviewee: Professor Elizabeth Carter, Assistant Professor of Political Science at the University of New Hampshire

 Interview Transcript:

Refugee Crisis

A: What are your opinions on the current refugee crisis?

PC: When I think about the refugee crisis, I first think about Germany and Chancellor Merkel’s response. There is the Syrian refugee crisis that relate to the German history. Angela Merkel is the Chancellor and the leader of the center-right party, the Christian Democrats. She took a pretty contested stance in her party, which was to welcome the refugees with quite open arms. The rhetoric that was said, not by Merkel directly, was other people took in German refugees at our darkest hour, now we can do this and step in to help others. At that time, she was in a Grand Coalition with the Socialist government that would be to the little bit to the left, so she may have been a bit more influenced in some ways by that party. Overall, Germany had a really exceptional stance on integrating migrants. So I think the question is, what is the effect of that in France?

A: Do you mean how is France being affected by what Germany is doing?

PC: Yes. Because it’s not like France is a peaceful place that had good immigrant relations and then there was the refugee crisis in about 2013. 

A: In regards to the refugee crisis, do you know exactly what French President Macron’s stances are?

PC: I almost want to say centrist, because I was following the situation that was going on in Calais with the camps being taken apart. He tends to be an ally with Chancellor Merkel, and I think he wants to be the pragmatic centrist. But he also wants people in France to be happy. France has a ton of immigrants, but the thing you hear people talking about in Germany is the Syrians; in France, it’s not. There definitely have been Syrian refugees in France, but again I think its like pressing on the already sensitive spot of the many Muslim immigrants. There’s still an influx of refugees from Tanzania, Algeria, and Sub-Saharan French former colonies. You walk around Paris, and there’s boulevards full of tents, at least 10 sleeping bags on one block. I’ve been going to France for 20 years, and this is something I’ve never seen before. They do often seem to be refugees who have come to France because they think they can get a better life. France has a really strong identity that’s tied to being French and having French values, language, being Catholic but secular. They aren’t open to people, especially Muslim immigrants, who they feel won’t take on the French culture.

 A: Some research I’ve done showed that it’s the way you look that greatly affects the way in which you are treated. The French tend to be more accepting of other European refugees rather than those from Africa or the Middle East. Do you think this is true?

PC: I noticed that much more in Germany, who only considered Germans to be those with German blood. France’s take on nationality is that you are French if you are born on French soil; anyone can be French, as its about liberty, equality, and brotherhood. You have to speak French and adopt the liberal values of the French Revolution and the French state today. France’s issue with the hijab was interpreted as Muslim women rejecting French culture. However, when I taught in public school in France, I noticed my students would wear bandanas on their heads to get around the law that banned the hijabs. It was their way of protesting they would not allow France to push this law on them. Even though France has this identity of liberty and equality, they fall short of their ideals. In France, there is no hyphenated identity. If someone referred to themselves as Algerian-French, it’d be considered a threat because it weakens your French-ness. As a result, there are no statistics collected on what the ethnic backgrounds of people in France are because they don’t ask.

When it comes to being hired in France, you put your photo on your application. If your name is Mohamed, you will not be hired. While not everyone discriminates and is racist, I have a friend in France who does sales that claims he won’t hire anyone with the name Mohamed because he knows other people are racist and would no longer buy from his company if they saw this. While the issue of discrimination is so prominent, they can’t even diagnose the issue because they have no idea how many people of color or of a certain religion there are in a certain school because they don’t have that data.

History of the Front National Party

A: How do you think France’s history has led up to what is going on now?

PC: That’s everything. So if we want to talk about it, we have to talk about Jean-Marie Le Pen and the Front National Party. The party has now changed names, but we will call it the Front National because that is what the party had been called for decades. Understanding Jean-Marie Le Pen involves understanding his really complicated and long history.

A: This is because he was very racist and said a lot of things about the Holocaust that he claimed didn’t exist and didn’t allow France to take responsibility for it or didn’t think that they should.

PC: Yes, they both he and his daughter Marine Le Pen said some crazy things, and she would argue that her father is crazier. She’s seen as relatively more moderate, but the important thing to keep in mind about Jean-Marie Le Pen is where he came from ideologically, which was a movement called the Poujadist movement that came out of the Algerian War. Algeria is a majority Muslim country in Northern Africa which used to be a part of France. The French considered it to be a French state. The Algerians decided in the 1950s to fight back during Charles de Gaulle’s presidency in France. There was a lot of guerilla tactics and some would even consider terrorist actions because they had limited resources for other ways of fighting. When the Algerians won the war, Jean-Marie Le Pen and other Poujadist members saw Charles de Gaulle as a traitor, that he had stabbed France in the back, that he had let go a part of France. This is when the Front National started. It was more nationalistic than the de Gaulle Party, which was a center-right party. In the beginning, it was pro-European Union, but of course, that changed. It was interesting because the Front National wanted and considered Algeria to be a part of France that was lost, but at the same time, they were very anti-Muslim. This anti-Muslim component and this tension around French relations with the Muslim and Arab world, especially with the Algerians, have always been the cornerstone of the Front National.

If you go to France today and ask people about what’s going on with the far-right movements, you will meet people who are critical of them, especially those in academia. But I’ve been shocked by how many people identify as Fascist, who are blatantly anti-Muslim and even those trying to be liberal will say the problem is we have too many immigrants here. It’s Algerian immigrants and those from other former French colonies in Sub-Saharan and Northern Africa. There is also a huge amount of anti-Semitism in France which continues to be a massive issue that’s been reported on more recently in the press. So this is why the Front National has always been nationalist and anti-immigrant that’s been seen well before the recent crisis. I think at first Jean-Marie Le Pen was seen as kind of a crazy, out-there guy, and then people were really shocked when he made it to the second round of presidential vote in 2002. Jean-Marie Le Pen did make it to the second round in 2002 but then lost to Jacques Chirac by 85% to 15.

A: So is this when the Front National gained my attention worldwide?

PC: Yes. While people in France always knew about this movement, his advancement to the second round really put the Front National on the map globally. Although his daughter Marine has been able to situate herself definitely as a populist, but maybe less provocatively and offensive.

A: Well wasn’t that one of her goals?

 PC: Yes, and she’s distanced herself. She kicked her father out of the party.

The Yellow Vest Movement

A: What are your thoughts on the yellow vest movement?

PC: I actually was in France when the gilets Jaunes movement started.

A: Oh wow, so did you see it all happen?

PC: No, the day there were the big riots I went to the London for a day and I came back and met my friend at the train station and he told me you know parts of the city are burning and I thought it was a joke.

A: Yeah, I had friends who were there for spring break and they saw all the riots going on too so it’s definitely still prominent. 

PC: The thing with France is whenever the government tries to make a change there’s a mass protest. And this can even be when it comes to trying to change the benefits for the railway workers. The railways will stop. Or whoever the threatened group is will go on strike and then the government will be forced to rescind what they are trying to do. France has a really unique historical structure. France is a historically centralized country, kind of uniquely centralized. There is a lot of power at the presidency and a lot of power in Paris, and people will say the consequence of that is you don’t have very strong intermediary organizations. So in a country like Germany, if you’re trying to make reform, intermediary organizations like employer groups and unions will get together to try and work these out in cooperation with the state. In France, they don’t have those groups. They have weak unions and a strong state, and you would think that the French Unions are strong because they could have so much protest, but actually when unions are weak its because they can’t actually have a voice at the table, and when they don’t get their voice at the table their only weapon is to strike. Striking is a last resort.

The gilets jaunes started because of the proposed gas tax and there is a French culture of striking as a way to try to pressure the government. And it seems they were quite successful; Macron said okay I’m going to postpone this tax, but it was kind of like a snowball got pushed down the hill and people protesting on this movement often go because the scope of this protest has increased because people have been upset about other things for some time. 

A: Do you feel the movement is different from how it started?

PC: It is, as it has become much more extreme. In a way, it’s a parallel to Brexit too, which is another thing that started off one way and then morphed into a different kind of movement with different people and different interests in it. I think a lot of people are protesting economic inequality and security more broadly. In France, they usually have really protected workers and strong benefits. And how they have tried to adapt to a changing economy is basically by having more precarious or temporary employment. So a lot of young people today are temps, along with huge levels of unemployment. They no longer have things to count on that older generations once had.

People are sick of this, and who are they blaming? They’re blaming their government, they’re blaming the European Union, they’re blaming globalization. Why are they blaming the European Union? Because European leaders have had a habit of everything time there’s an unpopular change they need to make, they blame it on the EU. There’s been a lot of “I don’t want to do this, but we need to do this for Europe.” And then the net consequence of this is to build up resentment towards the European project. That’s why the Front National that used to be pro-Europe, now take Europe as a scapegoat. They claim that instead of increasing French independence and sovereignty that it’s a threat to it.

MEDIA

A: What’s your opinion on the role of the media in France, in particular to the most recent presidential election?

 PC: As far as the role of media in presidential elections, I think one think worth mentioning is Macron created his own party ‘En Marche!’. He had very little political background. How the French elections are structured in time has changed now so that parliament and the president are just a few weeks apart. It used to be staggered by years, and so it would be kind of like what we have in the U.S., it would always be a president that would be of one party, and then the parliament would be of the other because it would be a protest vote and they never get anything done. So, they’ve coordinated these. The president is election first, so Macron was elected with this new party, and then had like six weeks to get together this ticket of new potential parliamentarians and he was very successful with that and they were able to get a number of seats.

A: So do you feel that the media helped him?

PC: I don’t know the details of that but what we can say is that the media is different and nothing has ever happened before like with what happened with Macron in France. So, is that a correlation or a causation? I’m not going to go there and make that judgment, but someone could make a case that it is more than just correlation.  

He has positioned himself as a new type of president, but the ways of protest aren’t different. They haven’t worn yellow vests before, but they taking the streets and they’re looting and rioting and they’re doing things that they’ve done quite regularly since the French revolution. But you have a new type of president and an old type of political movement, and they don’t seem to be too persuaded by the actions he’s taking. He’s spent over a hundred hours talking to people, and it sounds to me he is trying to come up with innovative solutions. The thing happening in France is that in every election, people are voting for someone very different. Like okay, we’ll vote for a socialist, we’ll vote for the center-right guy, we’ll vote for the new party. They’re trying to vote for anyone who they think can break their stalemate because they have some kind of institutionalized sick stalemate. And when it comes to kind of their economic sclerosis – that’s a word that’s used to call European political economy in general when there wasn’t any, it was called a Eurosclerosis, which would be a sclerotic economies of Europe after the 1970s – when there was no growth. So I think people are seeing that France has suffered from no growth and keep electing a different type of president thinking he would be able to fix it, but he isn’t able to fix it. They reject the president, then try something else. I think what nobody knows is that when you have institutionalized problems, you can’t just change one office and think everything was going to reform. Most French presidents, with the exception of Hollande, have been trying to move France closer to the market. And the French are trying to, they want to keep what’s considered a uniquely French model in a globalized economy, which is Anglo-Saxon. And the question is can they do it, and Macron thinks that they need to move towards the Anglo-Saxon variant, which means more ‘précarité,’ more precariousness, more people being fired, etc. 

Comparing the U.S. and Trump to France

A: Do you think the discrimination and racism Trump tries to ignite within the United States compares at all to what is going on in France?

PC: What’s going on in France right now is different from Trump. It was actually really weird for me to hear Trump use all this anti-immigrant rhetoric because almost everyone here is an immigrant unless you’re Native American. Most of his wives were immigrants, and we don’t have an immigration influx. What Trump is doing is borrowing rhetoric from Europe; Trump tried something and it worked. I actually spoke with someone who was a former member of the Trump administration who claimed Trump isn’t even anti-immigrant. Steven Miller, far-right senior advisor for policy of Trump, is anti-immigrant and has a rhetoric that worked. Trump saw how effective Miller was with his demographic. Trump doesn’t really care about immigration, but he realizes that it is helping him with his base. What he is doing is very similar to what is being done in Europe, the only difference is we don’t have same issues as them. It isn’t people in San Diego on the border supporting Trump, its those in the heartland who are losing their jobs and looking for someone to blame.  

Citations:

“Xenophobia, Identity Politics and Exclusionary Populism in Western Europe.” Socialist Register 2003: Fighting Identities: Race, Religion and Ethno-Nationalism, by Hertz-Georg Betz, Merlin Press, 2003.

https://www.unh.edu/unhtoday/expert/carter-elizabeth

[amargarone772]

           This short film about Rokhaya Diallo was filmed by Aljazeera, a Qatari television news channel. The video is done in an interview style, allowing Diallo to fully express and explain her views on pressing issues in France today. Diallo has an impressive resume, as she is a French activist, feminist, filmmaker, and writer, and identifies herself as French and Muslim (Aljazeera). She claims she is lucky to be in the position to be so vocal about the racist issues in France since not many people like her are able to do so. Although she has always been an activist, the inspiration that inspired this film to be made was her recent firing within government (Aljazeera). The film explains her journey experiencing racism within the French government, as well as the threat to freedom of speech in France.

     Diallo was part of the Digital Council within the government but was controversially asked to step down from it due to her efforts to tackle state-sponsored racism (Aljazeera). The Digital Council in France is an independent public body composed of about 30 members whose goals are to issue independent opinions and recommendations on any question regarding the impact of digital technologies on the economy and society (Wikipedia). The Council is closely related to the government and helps them with new legislations, as many of the issues involve challenging policies (Oxford Internet Institute). Diallo’s firing was seen as she openly stated she supported Muslim women wearing a hijab in France, something that is not legal to do in public institutions in France. Diallo firmly believes that French institutions not only support but encourage racism. She claims that in France if you are perceived as someone with Arab or African descent, you experience more racism in France. As stated in the Guardian, “The 2016 ruling that found France guilty of carrying out unjustified identity checks on non-white men came after a case was brought by 13 French men of black or North African origin aged 18 to 35 (The Guardian). Their professions ranged from student to teacher, local councilor to a professional sportsman. All said they were stopped by police in various cities across France because of their race” (The Guardian). This shows that they are exploiting a whole race of people within the countries. Diallo also explains how French territories have different laws and regulations for safety than France, because they are mainly occupied by people of color. An example of this is the use of harmful pesticides in these territories that are illegal on French mainland soil. Upset about racism is not a new thing being expressed by immigrant people. The Marche des Beurs, slang for children of North African-Arab immigrants, occurred in France in 1983 and was once again commemorated and re-enacted in 2013 (Mulholland, 2013).  In the spirit of the French, 100,000 stickers and supporters of North African-Arab descent rallied together to march in Paris to protest civil rights issues and discrimination in France (Mulholland, 2013). This shows how issues regarding racism were prominent 30 years ago, 6 years ago, and still today in France. As the document states, “The youth of today needs symbols, models. It is essential that this little story is integrated into the greater history of France" (Mulholland, 2013). If history is repeating itself this much, it is evident that something is wrong and nothing concrete is happening.

       The supreme court ruled that the State was performing racial profiling, to which the State did not even try to deny and responded by saying that they were justified in their actions (Aljazeera). Amnesty International, the UN, and others like them have also stated that they felt France could do more to help these pressing issues of racism in the country (Aljazeera). Diallo wants to make sure that people know she is not claiming all of the French people are racist, but rather that the French institutions and the State are the ones who need to stop racism within them. In regards to Macron, Diallo feels that he is a younger and more progressive president compared to past leaders (Aljazeera). She has hope that because he has grown up in a more diverse France, he would be more open to a more inclusive France. However, the reforms for immigration currently in place are not much different from what they had prior to his leadership. He also replaced the state of emergency, which allowed the police to have more power and judges to have less power, which does not seem fair to Diall (Aljazeera). She feels the state of emergency just reinforces division within France.        There are strict secular laws in French which allows for a separation of church and state (Aljazeera). This implies, on paper, that freedom of religion is allowed in France. However, the ban of the hijab and any religious symbol in state institutions in 2004 says otherwise. There have been debates over the wearing of Islamic headscarves in public schools in 189, 1994, and 2003 (Scott, 2007, p. 21). As Joan Scott states in his book The Politics of the Veil, “What the chronological sequence does reflect is a hardening of the government’s position in reaction to the steadily growing political influence of the anti-immigrant far right” (Scott, 2007, p. 21). Diallo explains how institutions like school should be a place where you learn diversity, rather than hide our differences as the French state justifies as making all children equal (Aljazeera). The law so-called reminded parents that being a French citizen is a social counteract, as the New Yorker interestingly put it (New Yorker). This is an interesting idea as many people claim being a French citizen means you must look, act, and sound the part. As the New Yorker states, several thousand French Muslim women still leave their houses everyday wearing burkas and covering their faces to make a defiant statement to people everywhere (New Yorker). The ban on the veil connects to issues with women’s rights. If a woman wants to cover her body, she should be able to, and vise versa. Diallo explains that she feels this is patronizing and ethnocentric to tell Muslim women specifically to dress or undress as a way to define freedom (Aljazeera). Overall, while there are many things the French government needs to work on, Diallo believes there’s hope for the future since she as a black Muslim woman is able to speak on television about these issues.                   This film clearly explains many of the issues going on in France today, many of which can be blurred within the details of different laws and rhetoric of politicians. The film provides an authentic and genuine perspective on France, that does a good job of not bashing the country or its people, but rather identifying its issues and the way in which they should and can be resolved (Aljazeera). The way in which it is structured in interview form allow for clear questions to be answered, many of which I myself would have wanted to ask Diallo. The perspective of a black Muslim woman living in France on these issues makes the film much more invigorating. It is much different to hear a white, male politician discuss racism, or often in their opinion lack-of racism, in France, then to someone who experiences it every day. One of the things I like about Diallo is that she admits there are others who experience the everyday hardships of racism against one’s color, ethnicity, and religion than she does. She does not portray herself as a victim, but rather a fighter who is willing to speak out against her prior employer and the injustices of her country for both herself and others like her (Aljazeera).                                                          This film relates to some of the pressing issues we have discussed in class, such as the treatment of immigrants and people of color in Europe, and the censorship of the media by the government. As discussed in Chapter 14 of Populism and the Media by Luca Manucci, state-controlled media is seen in many populist countries. He claims, “the presences of populism is often linked to certain socio-economic and political conditions such as low credibility of mainstream parties and scandals of corruption” (Manucci, 467). This is seen with Diallo and the scandal around the government firing her from her Digital Council position because of her outright defense in the media of the hijab and diversity in France (Aljazeera). The government is essentially constricting what their employees are allowed to say and do, both publicly and in the media, using Diallo as an example of one’s fate if they go against the government’s beliefs. This censoring of their own employees is essentially their way of trying to control what information the people of France are being fed.

Scott, Joan Wallach. The Politics of the Veil. Princeton University Press, 2007. https://press.princeton.edu/titles/8497.html (Scott, 2007)

https://www.academia.edu/38695092/Populism_and_the_Media (Manucci, 467)

https://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/behind-frances-burka-ban?irclickid=UmZXeoR162nDyOkwsBxOERwCUkl1cr34eXpg2Y0&irgwc=1&source=affiliate_impactpmx_12f6tote_desktop_Viglink%20Primary&utm_source=impact-affiliate&utm_medium=27795&utm_campaign=impact&utm_content=Online%20Tracking%20Link&utm_brand=tny (New Yorker)

https://signin.lexisnexis.com/lnaccess/app/signin?back=https%3A%2F%2Fadvance.lexis.com%3A443%2Fdocument%2F%3Fpdmfid%3D1516831%26crid%3Df48bc437-eb82-4000-a131-c05d554ea669%26pddocfullpath%3D%252Fshared%252Fdocument%252Fnews%252Furn%253AcontentItem%253A59YW-S8C1-J9YR-G4H4-00000-00%26pddocid%3Durn%253AcontentItem%253A59YW-S8C1-J9YR-G4H4-00000-00%26pdcontentcomponentid%3D389195%26pdteaserkey%3Dsr0%26pditab%3Dallpods%26ecomp%3D1fyk%26earg%3Dsr0%26prid%3D7195c314-c930-4fd4-bab8-c2f2d88ef0a1&aci=la (Mullholland, 2013)

[amargarone772]

Notre Dame Donations Spark Outrage Amongst     Yellow Vest Protesters

The Fire

           On Monday, April 15th, 2019, the world was shocked as reports of the famous cathedral Notre Dame burned to the ground. The Notre Dame, or “Our Lady,” located in Ile de la Cite in Paris, is the most famous gothic cathedral in the world and receives over 13 million visitors a year. The building was completed in 1345 and was the site of some of the most important events in France’s history (CBS News). A fire broke out just beneath the roof with no signs of foul play by arson or terror attack to be involved and it was ruled an accident (CBS NEWS). The cathedral had been in the midst of its renovation, with the roof covered by scaffolding; some suggest this could have contributed to sparking the flames (CBS News). While there was a tremendous amount of damage done (including the world-famous stained glass windows), some vital towers and interior structures are believed to have been saved, along with priceless paintings and artifacts (CBS News). The cathedral is a symbol of not just France, but specifically Paris, and is significant on religious, civil, and national levels (CBS News). The fire has been considered a “tragedy for the world” as it was culturally devastating for worshipers, historians, artists, and tourists everywhere.

Anger Amongst the Yellow Vest Protesters

           While many are devastated by the events that happened to the Norte Dame, we cannot forget about the yellow vest protestors who are also occupying France at this time. Their sadness and tears have been replaced with anger and outrage as donations begin to pile in for the rebuilding of the Notre Dame (PBS). While they themselves have even donated the little that they have to the church, they are upset by those in authority who seem to have prioritized the fire over the issues that have been protested for months now (PBS). President Emmanuel Macron made an effort to rally the people of France together to both mourn and support the rebuilding of the cathedral (NY Times). Macron sought to rally a devastated country into national unity in the midst of months of criticism and protesting, using the grief of the people to his advantage. As the New York Times stated and compared, “Like his predecessor, Francois Hollande, who steered France through two terrorist attacks, Mr. Macron suggested that politics be forgotten in the aftermath of the fire and called attention to the grand national rebuilding project” (NY Times). There was even a truce amongst left and right political parties on April 16th, something usually seen during wartime, which represents how drastic this event is to them (NY Times). Macron vowed for the restoration to be complete in a mere five years. Wealthy benefactors in France have promised to donate hundreds of millions of dollars to the restoration of Norte Dame, including some of the top companies in France and the richest man in France, representing what the 1% value (CNN). As of April 16th, 700 million dollars was pledged to be donated, but numbers are sure to have risen with elites all over the world vowing to contribute and have reached about 1 billion dollars (CNN).

           Prior to the fire, the president was set to give a speech about his analysis of what has been called the “the Great National Debate,” the time during which citizens expressed their grievances over the issues the Yellow Vests have been protesting (NY Times). This includes lower taxes, higher pensions, and opening up of institutions (NY Times). Once the fire happened, the speech which had been long awaited by the yellow vest protesters was canceled. They are not necessarily part of this national unity that the fire created. Political scientist Gerard Grunberg spoke out against Macron stating, “He wants to make the national reconstruction project a Macron project. He wants to make it his project. It’s a project for France that he wants to put himself as the head of: ‘I’m the one who will give you back your cathedral’” (NY Times). This suggests that Macron is trying to win over supporters by acting like a heroic figure for France, emphasizing his long-term vision for the nation that emphasizes his desire to be in power for a long time (NY Times). One could compare Macron to a populist leader in this sense. As stated in Media as the Incentive or Mediator of Populism, a populist leader likes, “knowing clearly what the people want just like a superhero. . . only they can be the liberator/hero of the people” (Izem Zeynep Bulut). While Macron wasn’t necessarily winning the hearts of the yellow vest protesters with his promises, he was winning the hearts of everyone else in France and boosting his popularity. He adopted the populist persona of being the salvation for the people during their time of sadness and despair by making the unrealistic claim to fix the cathedral in 5 years, making it seem as if this the most important issue going on in France right now.

            Yellow vest protests have continued since the burning, with protesters claiming the government is ignoring the poor and that they care more about a building than their own people (AP News). “I think what happened at Notre Dame is a great tragedy but humans should be more important than stones,” said protester Jose Fraile (AP News). It seems almost ironic that the protesters are using fire and violence to now protest a fire, and the same firefighters have to put out both flames. If anything, this event has only emphasized their concern that Macron’s “centrist” government is favoring the wealthy and big business, while they represent the working class (AP News). As another protester stated, “Victor Hugo thanks all the generous donors ready to save Notre Dame and proposes that they do the same thing with Les Miserables” (AP News).

A Solution to the Grievances

           As suggested in Mudde and Kaltwasser’s book Populism: A Very Short Introduction, if Macron wants to satisfy the French citizens and really be a hero, he needs to meet their demands. If this is not done, populist leaders like Marine Le Pen will continue to fight for power and be the heroes to those who are part of the yellow vest movement, particularly extremists. As stated in John Judis’s Us v Them: The Birth of Populism, Marine Le Pen and her party are championing for “the people” against an “establishment” or “elite,” representing especially the “little people” or “forgotten members (Judis, 2016, p. 3). There is no more of a time for the yellow vest protesters to feel forgotten by their President than now since his speech to address their grievances was canceled over the fire. As the Mudde and Kaltwasser state in chapter 6, “The best way to deal with populism is to engage – as difficult as it is – with populist actor and their supporters. The aim of the dialogue should be to better understand the claims and grievances of the populist elites and masses and to develop liberal democratic responses to them. At the same time, practitioners and scholars should focus more on the message than the messenger” (Mudde, Kaltwasser, 2017, p. 118). This suggests that Macron should do more to meet the needs of the protestors, especially since his 15 minutes of fame may not last long once the hype over the Notre Dame fire dies down. He should make sure to reschedule the speech that was supposed to take place prior to the fire, and ensure that the grievances of the people are heard. The grievances will just continue to grow if this is not done.

[amargarone772]

Collage - Yellow Vest Movement Before and After 

            This collage represents the yellow vest movement, or the the Les Gilets Jaunes. The movement has experienced many changes from when it started in November to present day. On the top half of the vest, the petition photo shows how the movement started as an online petition against the additional fuel tax proposed by new President Macron, as represented in the gas pump image that is pouring out. The people have also stated that Macron’s economic policies favor businesses and the wealthy and not the middle class or poorer people, as represented in the picture of a protestor wearing a Macron mask with money pouring out of his mouth (CBNBC). The online protest became a real life protest as people migrated toward Paris to strike in solidarity against the tax, as seen in the photos with the Arc de Triumph in the background. Many of these people protesting lived in rural towns because they couldn’t afford the taxes to live in the city (AA). As recorded in February 2019, 75,000 people nation wide took to protest (AA). At first, as Kevin Anderson states in France’s Yellow Vests: A mobilized Mass Movement with Insurrectionist Overtones, the government and international media represented the protest as, “one pitting the economic grievances of some rural people against the Macron government’s overly high-minded ecological aim of discouraging automobile use” (Anderson, 2019). This was said by the media because many lower middle class workers rely on automobiles to get to their jobs, which would be directly affected by the fuel tax (Anderson, 2019). This narrative was considered slanderous to the yellow vest protesters, especially since Macron favored the wealthy (Anderson, 2019). The way in which the protesters were represented to the world by the media could have directly affected the way in which the movement shifted.

            However, many feel that the movement has moved on from what it originally was into something much more violent and radical than they expected to see, which is represented in the bottom half of the collage. The pictures of fires set by protestors, and gas and excessive force used by police officers represents what this movement has turned into. One can say this movement has turned into something much bigger and is being used as a platform for radicals because the French government agreed to temporarily suspend the fuel tax rising (Welter, 2018). However, the issues are clearly much bigger than this. Many of the reforms President Macron has tried to implement are not popular amongst French citizens. As Anika Welter states in her EuropeanBlog post, “According to a poll from Elabe, 87 % of French citizens find that the passed reforms under Macron have not improved their purchase power and therefore did not contribute to a better economy. This dissatisfaction with Macron’s reforms has gone so far, that 69 % of the citizens demanded a “pause” of reform activities” (Welter, 2018). This dissatisfaction is what is fueling the movement to continue for this many months. As shown on the chart in the bottom half of the collage, from early November to December alone, support dropped from 51% to 46%, with an increase from 6% to 13% of people being opposed to the movement (Statistica). 

           On one Saturday alone, 287 protesters were arrested in Paris (AA). Along with arrests on this one day came 117 injuries that included both protesters and policemen, showing how much physical force has escalated to stop this movement (AA). In total from November to February, two people have been killed, 890 have been injured, 1,081 detained, and nine people have been sentenced to prison time (AA). The government has vowed to protect Paris and its people as of the end of March by vowing to strengthen security efforts (CBNBC). A total of 6,000 police officers and two drones have been patrolling the area, as well as some reinforcement by the military for popular historical sites of gathering (CBNBC).

[amargarone772]

Short Film Review - Rokhaya Diallo: Race, religion and feminism in France

        This short film about Rokhaya Diallo was filmed by Aljazeera, a Qatari television news channel. The video is done in an interview style, allowing Diallo to fully express and explain her views on pressing issues in France today. Diallo has an impressive resume, as she is a French activist, feminist, filmmaker and writer, and identifies herself as French and Muslim. She claims she is lucky to be in the position to be so vocal about the racist issues in France, since not many people like her are able to do so. Although she has always been an activist, the inspiration that inspired this film to be made was her recent firing within government. The film explains her journey experiencing racism within the French government, as well as the threat to freedom of speech in France.

           Diallo was part of the Digital Council within the government, but was controversially asked to step down from it due to her efforts to tackle state-sponsored racism. The Digital Council in France is an independent public body composed of about 30 members whose goals are to issue independent opinions and recommendations on any question regarding the impact of digital technologies on the economy and society (Wikipedia). The Council is closely related to the government and helps them with new legislations, as many of the issues involve challenging policies (Oxford Internet Institute). Diallo’s firing was seen as she openly stated she supported Muslim women wearing a hijab in France, something that is not legal to do in public institutions in France. Diallo firmly believes that French institutions not only support, but encourage racism. She claims that in France, if you are perceived as someone with Arab or African decent, you experience more racism in France. As stated in the Guardian, “The 2016 ruling that found France guilty of carrying out unjustified identity checks on non-white men came after a case was brought by 13 French men of black or north African origin aged 18 to 35. Their professions ranged from student to teacher, local councillor to professional sportsman. All said they were stopped by police in various cities across France because of their race” (The Guardian). This shows that they are exploiting a whole race of people within the countries. Diallo also explains how French territories have different laws and regulations for safety than France, because they are mainly occupied by people of color. An example of this is the use of harmful pesticides in these territories that are illegal on French mainland soil. Upset about racism in not a new thing being expressed by immigrant people. The Marche des Beurs, slang for children of North African-Arab immigrants, occurred in France in 1983, and was once again commemorated and re-enacted in 2013 (Mulholland, 2013).  In spirit of the french, 100,000 stickers and supporters of North African-Arab descent rallied together to march in Paris to protest civil rights issues and discrimination in France (Mulholland, 2013). This shows how issues regarding racism were prominent 30 years ago, 6 years ago, and still today in France. As the document states, “The youth of today needs symbols, models. It is essential that this little story is integrated into the greater history of France" (Mulholland, 2013). If history is repeating itself this much, it is evident that something is wrong and nothing concrete is happening 

        The supreme court ruled that the State was performing racial profiling, to which the State did not even try to deny and responded by saying that they were justified in their actions. Amnesty International, the UN, and others like them have also stated that they felt France could do more to help these pressing issues of racism in the country. Diallo wants to make sure that people know she is not claiming all of the French people are racist, but rather that the French institutions and the State are the ones who need to stop racism within them. In regards to Macron, Diallo feels that he is a younger and more progressive president compared to past leaders. She has hope that because he has grown up in a more diverse France, he would be more open to a more inclusive France. However, the reforms for immigration currently in place are not much different from what they had prior to his leadership. He also replaced the state of emergency, which allowed the police to have more power and judges to have less power, which does not seem fair to Diallo. She feels the state of emergency just reinforces division within France. 

        There are strict secular laws in French which allows for a separation of church and state. This implies, on paper, that freedom of religion is allowed in France. However, the ban of the hijab and any religious symbol in state institutions in 2004 says otherwise. Diallo explains how institutions like school should be a place where you learn diversity, rather than hide our differences as the French state justifies as making all children equal. The law so-called reminded parents that being a French citizenship is a social counteract, as the New Yorker interestingly put it (New Yorker). This is an interesting idea as many claim being a French citizen means you must look, act, and sound the part. As the New Yorker states, several thousand French Muslim women still leave their houses everyday wearing burkas and covering their faces to make a defiant statement to people everywhere (New Yorker). The ban on the veil connects to issues with women’s rights. If a woman wants to cover her body, she should be able to, and vise versa. Diallo explains that she feels this is patronizing and ethnocentric to tell Muslim women specifically to dress or undress as a way to define freedom. Overall, while there are many things the French government needs to work on, Diallo believes there’s hope for the future since she as a black Muslim woman is able to speak on television about these issues.          

         This film clearly explains many of the issues going on in France today, many of which can be blurred within the details of different laws and rhetoric of politicians. The film provides an authentic and genuine perspective on France, that does a good job of not bashing the country or its people, but rather identifying its issues and the way in which they should and can be resolved. The way in which it is structured in interview form allow for clear questions to be answered, many of which I myself would have wanted to ask Diallo. The perspective of a black Muslim woman living in France on these issues makes the film much more invigorating. It is much different to hear a white, male politician discuss racism, or often in their opinion lack-of racism, in France, then to someone who experiences it everyday. One of the things I like about Diallo is that she admits there are others who experience the everyday hardships of racism against one’s color, ethnicity, and religion than she does. She does not portray herself as a victim, but rather a fighter who is willing to speak out against her prior employer and the injustices of her country for both herself and others like her.                                                

          This film relates to some of the pressing issues we have discussed in class, such as the treatment of immigrants and people of color in Europe, and the censorship of the media by the government. As discussed in Chapter 14 of Populism and the Media by Luca Manucci, state controlled media is seen in many populist countries. He claims, “the presences of populism is often linked to certain socio-economic and political conditions such as a low credibility of mainstream parties and scandals of corruption” (Manucci, 467). This is seem with Diallo and the scandal around the government firing her from her Digital Council position because of her outright defense in the media of the hijab and diversity in France. The government is essentially constricting what their employees are allowed to say and do, both publicly and in the media, using Diallo as an example of one’s fate if they go against the government’s beliefs. This censoring of their own employees is essentially their way of trying to control what information the people of France are being fed. 

https://www.aljazeera.com/programmes/talktojazeera/2018/02/rokhaya-diallo-race-religion-feminism-france-180214065524123.html

[amargarone772]

Event Analysis - The Yellow Vest Movement

                                                How It Started

           An ongoing event going on in France is the yellow vest protests that began shortly after the election of President Emmanuel Macron in November 2018 (NPR). Citizens around the nation were upset when President Emmanuel Macron after he passed a green tax on fuel that would go into effect in January of 2019 (NPR). Many felt that this tax separated President Macron as an elite and rich president, some even referring to the movement as a Macron Revolution (NPR). This represents a populist movement since populism, “assumes a basic antagonism between the people and an elite at the heart of its politics” (Judis, 2012, 2). Margaret Canovan describes populists movements as “of the people but not of the system” that “involves some kind of revolt against the established structure of power in the name of the people” (Canovan, 1999, 3). Populist movements in particular challenge not only established power-holders but also the values of the elite, in this case against Macron and his policy on taxes (Canovan, 1999, 3). The protests began through the power of the media when an online petition was posted in May and it went viral and has no official leadership. After the petition received almost a million signatures, real in-person protests began on the 17th of November (NPR). In the first few works of the protests, over 280,000 protesters took the streets nationwide (NPR). 

         The protest was named the yellow vest movement (or gilets jaunes) for the yellow safety vests protestors wore for protection and to show unity. The protests began in the French provinces and eventually migrated to Paris, where they became violent (NPR). In a recent unauthorized protest in Paris, police said 32 people were detained and 21 were fined (Time). In Bordeaux, the police used tear gas while protesters retaliated by setting fire to debris and forcing their way through security barriers; they were then banned from protesting in the city center (Time). Members of the protests mainly consisted of the working and middle classes upset about standards of living in France. Most complaints moved away from the high gasoline tax and continued even after they were lifted; the new motives are around the incomes being too high for social welfare benefits but too low to provide for themselves (NPR).

                                 Anti-Semitism within the Movement

        There is increasing worry of controversy over the yellow vests and if the movement is becoming anti-Semitic (BBC). These ideas were prompted after French philosopher Alain Finkielkraut was verbally attacked when passing by the yellow-vest protests in Paris. Phrases like “dirty Zionist” and “go back to Tel Aviv” were yelled at Finkielkraut, and he stated if police weren’t there he would have truly feared for his safety (BBC). Official reports said there has been a 74% increase in anti-Semitic attacks in France in the last year (BBC). Could these be related to the yellow-vests movement? This once again goes along with the idea that many extremists are associated with this group. Many feel the movement has sparked these anti-Semitic attacks because it supports transgression on multiple levels. While the the protesters are not part of an anti-Semitic movement, verbal attacks and chants like these are common during their Saturday demonstrations. Many of these are done by self-proclaimed leaders, this the movement itself is leaderless. Some protesters are protesting the racist ones, which shows that there is a separation of motives and confusion even within the movement. Both President Macron and Front National leader Marine Le Pen have denounced these attacks (BBC). However, Le Pen has been and her far-left rival Jean-Luc Melencon have been trying to win the support of these yellow vests in the midst of European elections in May (BBC). One can wonder if these attacks will steer more people away from being involved in the movement and support will plummet.

                                         Support Levels Decreasing

         Fast forward four months later, according to Anne Applebaum from the Washington Post, national support is dropping as of the end of March (Applebaum, 2019). Over half of the French people claim they want to the yellow vests to stop their protests because of the amount of violence associated with it and inconvenient traffic in Paris. Many are also upset with what the protests have turned into, saying that the protesters are not the same people or have the same motives as in November (Applebuam, 2019). Some are now referring to protestors as political extremists, both far left and far right, who took advantage of this movement to create their own platform, using it as a battlefield to fight each other and the elite (Applebaum, 2019). The violence amongst these people is also increasing, with reports in Paris of protesters attacking shops and small business. These attacks don’t match up with the anti-elite cries these protesters are shouting.

         Protestors from provinces traveling to Paris claim they are also objecting the high taxes they pay but receive no social services in return (Applebaum, 2019). However, experts are saying these claims aren’t true and that, “anyone in France who has ever received housing assistance, a free prescription, or sixteen weeks of paid maternity leave has benefited from the social protective system” (Applebaum, 2019). Experts also said benefits of these taxes include excellent infrastructure, mainly free education, and first-rate health care with little direct cost (Applebaum, 2019). Opponents of the yellow vest movement have expressed confusion that these protesters are fighting high taxes but are really just taking advantage of all of the support the French government provides, especially in comparison to other countries. The article explains that while France has a big age gap between the rich and poor, money flows from rich to poor (redistributive welfare system) than most European countries (Applebaum). However, it is the way in which people perceive policies that matter most, and if they aren’t realizing this is happening, they are going to be dissatisfied and will protest. The article brings up an interesting point, stating, “the gilets jaunes have created a major dilemma for anyone who believes that politics should be about policies – taxes, spending, health care, road – and not emotions” (Abblebaum, 2019).  It is the way in which people feel about these policies, how they feel valued in their careers and by their government, and if they feel they are being appreciated that matters to them most. This needs to be realized for satisfaction and a real change to happen.  

            Nicolas Duvoux and Adrien Papuchon explore this idea further in their study, “How to measure subjective poverty in France – and what this tells us about the anger of the Yellow Vests” (Duvoux, Papuchon, 2019). They discuss the idea of subjective poverty relates to widespread social insecurity and a degraded vision of the future (Duvoux, Papuchon, 2019). The debate over show qualifies as “poor” is both a political and social one. “In France, any individual living in a household whose standard of living is less than 60 percent of the median standard of living is considered poor. . . It is concentrated in densely crowded urban areas, whose inhabitants have not participated in the movement” (Duvoux, Papuchon, 2019). This suggests that many of the people protesting’s are considered above the poverty line in France, but have self-identified as poor. Therefore, there is much social insecurity among the working classes of France. When doing a study of individuals 18 or older living in metropolitan areas, those who are above the poverty line but still feel like they are poverty show 63% are pessimistic about France’s future (Duvoux, Papuchon, 2019). This is where much of the feelings of social injustice and instability comes from the people, which causes disconnect and confusion between them and the French government.

[amargarone772]

             EMMANUEL MACRON, PRESIDENT OF FRANCE   

                                               Elected President

               When discussing populism in France, it is just as important to discuss populist actors’ opponents as it is them. This allows one to have an overall better understanding of what exactly the populist actor is fighting against and comparing just how different the politicians actually are. Marine Le Pen is the most prominent far-right populist leader in France, but her opponent who defeated her in the May 2017 presidential election was President Emmanuel Macron, who won with two-thirds of the vote (Bell, 2019). Macron, a former banker inclined to neoliberalism, was the Minister of the economy prior to his presidency (Hancock, 2019, p. 115). He ran with little experience in politics. He resigned from this position as Minister in 2016 to run for president under his movement ‘En Marche!’ (a play on words with his own initials), and declared to run as a centrist candidate fighting nationalism (Hancock, 2019, p. 115). Macron self-proclaimed himself the new leader of the free world after his victory, gaining the trust and support of Euro-integrationists and technocrats worldwide (Hannan, 2018). He was also idolized by many British leaders, and there were often columnists writing about Britain’s need for a “British Macron” (Hannan, 2018). He had many large scale promises which included fixing Europe, fighting climate change, and taking on the United States and populists throughout the European Union (Bell, 2019). He wanted to specifically distinguish himself as different from the populists like Marine Le Pen who were currently trying to gain power. However, Macron’s presidency doesn’t seem to be going exactly as he had planned.

                                            Facing Political Riots

           In the CNN article titled, Macron Vowed to Fight the Populists, Now He’s Being Engulfed By Them, the author discusses the many political riots following his win (Bell, 2019). In November of 2018, there was growing discontent and political riots amongst the French people, specifically against Macron (Bell, 2019). Most riots took place in Paris. This is referred to as the “yellow vest movement.” Macron did not have a solid idea on what exactly was going on and how to deal with it. This helped to prove to the people of France that their president did not connect with them (the common citizens) and that he was out of touch with the reality of what was happening in France (Bell, 2019). The yellow vest movement protesters have shifted gears from fighting the rise in fuel tax to focusing on more power to the people by having more mass popular votes (Bell, 2019). By December 2018, his approval ratings sank to a low 29 percent (Hannon, 2018). One could compare Macron to Trump, as Finchelstein states in his Populism in History, “Trump is the voice of Trump” but still claimed he was “the voice of the people” (Finchelstein, 2017, p. 146). Macron is not doing the job of satisfying his people’s needs and demands if there is this much upset this early into his presidency. If the French people are saying he is out of touch with them, then he should make more of an effort to connect with and satisfy them.

                                               An Unpopular Populist

        While Macron prides himself in being anti-populist, Dan Hannan from the Washington Examiner states, “The pundits and politicians who lauded Macron as an antidote to populism had misunderstood his technique” (Hannan, 2018). Macron embodied many of the key characteristics of populism. As Hannan describes, this includes “promising to transcend the old party system. . .claiming to be beyond left and right. . . seeking first-time candidates untainted by politics. . . focusing on the leader rather than the party . . .” (Hannan, 2018). The article also discusses the inconsistencies in his policies and how they were no legitimate system in how they were chosen. An example is his promise for France to be a free-marketeer, but also a Euro-protectionist, or his promise to revive France, but also immerse it in a federal European state (Hannan, 2018). Macron is said to claim himself a national-savior and strongman above corrupt politicians, being compared to the Napoleons’ autocratic rule. The statement, “the politician parties have failed you, you need a man with a vision who can unite all the patriots” has been promised to the French people for years, and Macron can be identified under this category (Hannan, 2018). Identifying himself as one of the people was another tactic Macron used to gain support. However, it is now understood that he is the embodiment of the political caste that regular French people detested. As stated in the text Populism by Cas Mudde and Cristobal Rovira Kaltwasser, the construction of the populist leader, or the vox populi, consists of a separation of the elite and a connection to the people. Macron tried to embody both of these things as would a populist but eventually failed once people realized he was part of the elite they disliked. Also explained by Mudde and Kaltwasser is the insider-outsider persona taken on by populists. This is when they separate themselves from unpopular policies of past political governments or parties and their incompetence. Macron fits under this role as he often separates himself from incompetent parties in France, especially ones that play on the fears of the people (The Guardian). Overall, many of Macron’s critics claim he has just become an “unpopular populist” (Hannan, 2018).

                                        Relationship with the Media

         Another important aspect of Macron to focus on is his relationship with the media. Macron does not have a history of supporting French media. In September of 2017, the president agreed to have an interview with US media (CNN International) before French media outlets after his UN Assembly address (Politico). His reason? “When I see the time spent in the past four months commenting only on my silences and my sayings, I think that it is a totally narcissistic system that’s more interested in communication than content” (Politico). Past criticism during his presidential campaign involved him claiming past presidents were too close with journalists, which could lead to corruption. He also claimed journalists were “too interested in themselves and not enough in the country,” implying personal gain and fame was more important than France (Politico). He also claims he dislikes the media’s portrayal of certain controversial events with not before or after context which is where the truth often lies. He claims, “I see media powers who want to become judicial powers” (Politico). However, once again contradicting himself, at the UN address he called for global protection of journalists because nothing could justify reducing the freedom of the press (Politico). He calls to protect those he criticizes, which makes it hard to fully understand how he feels about the media, specifically outlets in France.

        Macron has a twitter account which he actively uses, tweeting an average of two or three times per day. His tweets do not seem to be provoking or insensible, but more so informative and self-promoting (Aljazeera). Macron seems to want to keep a clean slate with the media as journalists have even commented on this and his lack of media presence (Aljazeera). Comparing him to the old president Hollande, Macron doesn’t hold luncheons with journalists and refuses to have any “off the record” moments where he has the possibility to mess up. He always wants to be “on the record.” The documentary Emmanuel Macron: Behind the Rise is supposed to be an off the record, behind the scenes documentary on Macron’s campaign journey, but even it seems to be strategically directed and used as propaganda. The documentary has scenes where Macron is seeing choking up while giving a speech about a late campaign member, another where he looks at the score of a soccer game and swears during a speech, tries to order off a kids’ menu, and is shown speaking English to President Obama. These scenes are examples of making him look like a charismatic, normal one of the people kind of guy. Most French media outlets claim they have a hard time reaching Macron, and he favors having international media interviews over French ones (Aljazeera). He is also known to be selective over who can and cannot cover his stories. Macron was also reported to not allow a French TV media outlet to interview him until 5 months after his win, and he conveniently chose a privately-owned channel over France’s state broadcaster (Aljazeera). This reminds me of the way populist Marine Le Pen also tries to control the media and who is allowed to interview her and go to her events.

[amargarone772]

                                          Editorial Cartoon

   This political cartoon displays Marine Le Pen’s censorship of the media. During a CNBC Paris exclusive interview with Le Pen, she was asked if the positively changed image of the Front National party was due to just better PR, questioning how much the party has actually changed (CNBC). This question was incited by the party’s reputation under Marine’s father, Jean-Marie Le Pen. Jean-Marie is a convicted racist who made claims that “Nazi gas chambers were a detail of history” (BBC). While leader, he also wished to deport three million foreigners and was known to be, “the epitome of the nationalistic, xenophobic, homophobic, authoritarian, traditional right (Dumitrescu, D, 2017, 5). Le Pen responded saying that the party’s “demonization” was simply an injustice against them and a weapon used by their political opponets (CNBC). Le Pen also stated, “I have nothing to hide and I call upon those who are scared by the National Front, to look up the National Front’s manifesto. It’s quite easy on the internet. And they will realize that we are far away from the stereotyping and the image that is given by those that we are threatening because they are losing votes and we are winning them” (CNBC). Le Pen sounds very confident in stating that the party has nothing to hide. However, the way in which Le Pen is controlling the media may be a huge reason for this. 

       Reporters Without Borders reported on Le Pen banning journalists from two news organizations from her two-day long Front National event where she launched her campaign for the 2017 presidential election (Reporters Without Borders). Her reasoning? The media outlets treat her differently from other candidates, promising they would not be able to come to her campaigns unless “they change their attitude towards the National Front and modify their coverage of its activities” (Reporters Without Borders). Le Pen is not letting the public get a full on journalistic review of what she says and her opinions, which some say is not respecting the French value of freedom of information (Reports Without Borders). During Marine Le Pen’s first speech in 2011, she claimed she accepted all the groups of people the FN once denounced, such as women, the gays, and non-Christians (Dumitrescu, D, 2017, 6). However, her openness “failed to generate policy changes;” for example, the FN 2012 political program had no specific changes protecting or extending women’s rights (Dumitrescu, D, 2017, 6). This shows that the information people are seeing on the media and specifically on the internet may be false and that the things the Front National is promising may have no actions attached to them. This is why I have chosen to show a man on the internet, doing as Marine Le Pen says and “easily” looking up the National Front. However, he is blindfolded to show that the negative and destructive words Le Pen is saying may not be easily found.

Dumitrescu, D. (2017). Up, close and personal: The new front national visual strategy under marine le pen.

 French Politics, 15

(1), 1-26. doi:http://dx.doi.org.unh.idm.oclc.org/10.1057/s41253-016-0012-7

Quotes on computer of political cartoon found on: https://www.brainyquote.com/authors/marine_le_pen

[amargarone772]

Special Issue Brief - Immigration in France

      Humanitarian efforts have been increasing throughout the world as the number of refugees seeking asylum has dramatically increased. Many people in Europe have been participating in saving lives from boats at sea and providing food and shelter to these migrants (Amnesty International). However, many governments and citizens of these countries are not happy with these humanitarian acts and have made efforts to stop them. This issue has also been the platform many politicians have adopted as a way to gain followers against the support of this influx of immigration. This has been seen with politicians like Front National leader Marine Le Pen, who has claimed to “protect France” by promising to end immigration and defend the nation against “savage globalization” (Independent).  As Maria Serrano from Amnesty International states, “It is also emblematic of an increasing trend we are witnessing across Europe where acts of solidarity are criminalized in order to discourage other activists from taking action in defense of human rights” (Amnesty International). Solidarity has now become a crime, and citizens are being punished for having empathy. In 2018, France developed an article of immigration law that allowed up to five years’ imprisonment for those who, “attempt to facilitate the illegal entry, movement or residence of a foreigner” (Amnesty International).

       An example of a humanitarian worker facing this treatment by the government is 73-year-old citizen Martine Landry. Martine has been in an out of court for helping asylum seekers from Guinea (Amnesty International). These boys were only 15-years-old and crossed the border into France from Italy, where Martine then led them to a police station where she hoped they’d be registered as minors and cared for (Amnesty International). She put her faith in her government to help these boys. By punishing this woman who is just trying to act upon her empathy and morals merely for helping two young, scared, and helpless boys, the government is displaying how little they support refugees and encouraging others not to follow in this woman’s footsteps. Another example of this is the charges against humanitarian aid worker Loan Torondel. The charges were for tweeting a picture of police officers confiscating a homeless migrant’s sleeping bag and on a cold day, with a caption that mimicked the president’s words, “Maybe, but we are the French nation, sir” (Human Rights Watch). He was charged with criminal defamation, being punished for standing up for refugees and to set an example to other humanitarian workers to not even defend these refugees on a media platform or any form of social media.

       A large demographic of refugees who are being most affected by this unsympathetic and merciless treatment are adolescents. According to the Human Rights Watch, children are being deprived of access to essential services such as housing, education, and health services (Human Rights Watch). This is all in spite of them being entitled to these things as minors under French law. If these children are not in camps, they are on the streets, especially in Paris (Human Rights Watch). The government has found loopholes in this system by not believing the children’s claims that they are under 18 since many come to the country undocumented.

       A refugee camp in northern France in the city Calais had been nicknamed “the Jungle,” and one could imagine why (Time). In Nicolas Fischer’s article under Bodies at the Border, he describes refugee and detention camps in France as, “Camps are places where bare life is produced par excellence: detained immigrants literally live in a ‘border zone’, where the legal order, the physical body and the territory are disconnected (Schinkel 2009). As undocumented foreigners who are locked up only to be forcibly removed, detainees are still physically on the territory but they are barely entitled to any rights, and when it comes to legal protection, they may be described as already being outside the state” (Nicolas Fischer, 1165, 2013). This helps describe what the refugee camp in Calais was like. The camp was home to migrants from Afghanistan, Eritrea, Iraq, Syria, Somalia, and more (Time). They were forced to sleep in outside in tents and shacks, but also had places of worship and informal shops and classrooms (Time). While some of these refugees made it to their “Promise Land” of Britain, others were left behind, filled with tension and anxiety. The British and French governments fought for months over which nation was responsible for these refugees in Calais, and both fought to get the camp shut down in 2016 (Time). This abandonment of responsibility for these people led to over 1,000 children under the age of 18 in so-called “legal limbo” (Time). The other few thousand adults would be relocated to smaller refugee camps across the country, while, “the unaccompanied minors . . . claims will wind their way through the bureaucratic labyrinth that could take years to navigate” (Time). They are caught in this cycle of relocating and placing their full trust in the government that is giving them unsatisfying results. While overall the issue of immigration in France has affected the government, humanitarians, and asylum seekers, the treatment of refugee children is, in my opinion, the most heartbreaking.

 Nicolas Fischer (2013) Bodies at the border: the medical protection of immigrants in a French immigration detention centre, Ethnic and Racial Studies, 36:7, 1162-1179, DOI: 10.1080/01419870.2013.783708

[amargarone772]

Media Landscape Brief

           The extent to which the French people trust and use the media is vital when trying to understand the country’s political movements. According to the 2019 Edelman Trust Barometer, throughout Europe, there seems to be a low trust in social media because many worry about fake news and information being used as a tool to manipulate the public (Edelman). According to the European Broadcast Union’s Trust Report, France fell under both the categories of tending not to trust both broadcast media and online media (Edelman). The report also states that the higher the level of trust in a country’s broadcast media, the higher the press freedom tends to be in that country (Edelman). This can imply that there is a low level of press freedom in France. Many of France’s main media outlets are being increasingly held by few companies and by French billionaire business who are now media moguls (Media Landscapes).

           This level of distrust may be related to the way reporters have been treated. During the last French presidential election, a petition launched by Reporters without Borders (RSF) condemned the physical and verbal attacks on journalists that were taking place, stating they should be able to do their job without threat (Jane Whyatt, 2017). This was especially crucial during a campaign period where honest reporting plays such an influential role in the way the election could play out. This petition was influenced by a specific incident where journalists and magistrates received threatening notes for investigating a court case against Francois Fillon, a presidential candidate (Jane Whyatt, 2017). These notes were not light either; they contained bullets and an image of a coffin and were death threats. France was living in a state where their democracy was being threatened and politicians were working against journalists. Front National candidate Marine Le Pen was also reported to have prevented certain reporters from coming to her campaign rallies because she disliked the way they reported negatively about her compared to other candidates, once again shielding the public from honest and true reporting (Reporters Without Borders). The RSF created a five-point program for press freedom whose demands includes more transparency in media ownership, laws to protect confidentiality, and easier public access to official information (Jane Whyatt, 2017). The campaign for reform took on the slogan Liberty, Equality, and Brotherhood, mimicking that of the French revolutionaries who fought against the monarchs (Jane Whyatt, 2017). One could say France is going through a different type of revolution today.

           A specific example of the French government censoring their media and a reason why the French people may have a distrust in their social media is the conviction of an Aid Worker for his tweet. His conviction proves that there is not only discrimination against migrants, but also for those who are helping them and supporting their cause (Human Rights Watch). Loan Torondel, a humanitarian worker, was found guilty of criminal libel for tweeting a picture of two police officers confiscating a homeless migrant’s sleeping bag in almost freezing weather, with the caption of the fictitious words of the police officer saying, “Maybe, but we are the French nation, sir” (Human Rights Watch). This sentence was controversial because it mimicked the French President Emmanuel Macron’s speech in 2017 where he said, “Never forget, we are the French nation” (Humans Rights Watch). There is debate over whether criminal defamation is legitimate and if they are a restriction of freedom of speech. The UN special rapporteur on freedom of opinion and expression as well as the representative on freedom of the media of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe have together concluded that defamation is, “not a justifiable restriction on freedom of expression” and wish to abolish these laws (Human Rights Watch). They also stated that “public figures are required to tolerate a greater degree of criticism than private citizens” (Human Rights Watch). Hopefully, situations like this bring to the public the outrageous laws and treatment of citizens regarding freedom of speech in France.     

         The Front National party has received a lot of media coverage since it was started in 1972. However, the mainstream news outlets do not necessarily did not portray the party in a positive light when it was under the leadership of Jean-Marie Le Pen (Aljazeera). His successor and daughter Marine Le Pen is determined to de-demonize the party with the help of the media, but this time, social media. Using social media as her platform is helpful in part by the decline of mainstream media news outlets (Aljazeera). Some even state that social media helped her rise to power as a candidate in the presidential election by helping spread her word and giving the party a new image (Stockemer, D. and Barisione, M., 2017, 103). As stated in Stockemer and Barisione’s article, “there is a shift in how political support in favor of parties like the FN is expressed: formal party membership numbers are often dwarfed by thousands of online supporters on Facebook and other social media web- sites” (Stockemer, D. and Barisione, M., 2017, 103). The Front National, in particular, uses Facebook as its main platform as a way to express non-mainstream ideologies. In addition to Facebook, Twitter is also largely used by the party (Stockemer, D. and Barisione, M., 2017, 103).

          Researchers have also come to the conclusion that Marie Le Pen’s use of social media and the rhetoric and images used on the different social media platforms have helped the party become more populist compared to the “old” party under Jean-Marie. As pulled from the Front National Facebook page, some important words Marie Le Pen uses to connect with her audience are ‘elite’, ‘corruption’, ‘betrayal’, and ‘we’ (Stockemer, D. and Barisione, M., 2017, 105). Marie Le Pen has also utilized social media outlets as a way to vocalize their most pressing issue – immigration (Stockemer, D. and Barisione, M., 2017, 105).  

 Stockemer, D., & Barisione, M. (2017). The ‘new’ discourse of the Front National under Marine Le Pen: A slight change with a big impact. European Journal of Communication, 32(2), 100–115. https://doi-org.libproxy.unh.edu/10.1177/0267323116680132

[amargarone772]

Political Landscape Brief

      After years of monarchy in France and the spark of the French Revolution, the First Republic of France was established in 1792. It took about 80 years of disorder following this for a stable democracy to be established in France.  The current government is based upon the 1958 constitution which established the Fifth French Republic (Factmonster). Current day, there is a defined separation of powers between the executive and local powers. This includes a strong president who is allowed to serve two, five-year terms, and who is directly elected by the citizens. It is the president’s responsibility to appoint a prime minister and his cabinet who are responsible for the National Assembly (Factmonster). With many French citizens having little confidence in their government, populist leaders have quickly risen. France is reported as the second most populist country in Europe at 70% (Bourekba, 2017). Citizens have expressed a lack of confidence due to little equality, opportunity, and weak political leaders. Terrorist attacks, a struggling economy, and an influx of immigrants have also contributed to these feelings of fear that populist parties like the National Front have utilized to gain followers.                                                               

      One of the main populist parties in France is the National Front, or now known as the National Rally (Edelman), whose president up until 2017 was Marine Le Pen. The party is a right-wing populist and nationalist political party that was first started in 1972 to help unify a multitude of French nationalist movements. They claimed to represent the “little people” and the “forgotten members” against the caste” (Judis, 2017, 3). It was founded by former president Marine Le Pen’s father, Jean-Marie Le Pen. It is most well-known for opposing French membership to the European Union (Wikipedia). It had little widespread recognition and popularity up until the 2002 presidential election where Jean-Marie became the first National Front candidate. (Wikipedia). Jean-Marie was not viewed or represented positively by the main-stream media, which caused his daughter who succeeded him to try to soften the party’s image to gain more popularity and followers (Wikipedia). This is why Marine Le Pen is known to have censored the media during the launch of her campaign in 2017 for the presidential election, justifying banning journalists from the website Mediapart and a TV program on TMC because they “treated her differently” compared to other presidential candidates (Reporters Without Borders). The National Front claimed stated this would continue unless these media outlets changed their attitudes toward their party, which critics argue strongly goes against the French Republic’s value of freedom of information (Reporters without Borders).  Despite this censorship, Le Pen is known to have a “media-friendly persona” and political skills that helped bring the Front National Party to national fame (Factmonster).

      Another prominent populist leader in France is Jean-Luc Melenchon (Bourekba, 2017). He uses the populist approach of needing to get rid of elites who control the country’s wealth and monopolize power; he also rejects globalization and calls for a “Disobedient France” controlled revolt by the people. Similar to Le Pen, he wishes to call for a vote to leave the EU (Bourekba, 2017). While the Front National Party is the most prominent populist party in France, there are other smaller populist parties that have gotten less national attention that also exist.

      In the midst of all of this, human rights in France are also being threatened by the counter-terrorism powers being used to “protect” France under their state of emergency, which was established following the 2015 Paris terrorist attacks (Amnesty, 2018). Even after the state of emergency in France was lifted in October 2017, a severe state of securitization has taken its place. This is known as the new counter-terrorism law SILT, or the “Strengthening Internal Security and the Fight Against Terrorism” law (Amnesty, 2018). This law undermines the rights to liberty, freedom of movement, privacy, security, and freedoms of association and expression (Human Rights Watch). According to Amnesty International, people are unjustly being punished without charge or trial, so ordinary criminal justice system measure is being ignored and avoided (Amnesty, 2018). As Rym Khadhraoui of Amnesty International stated, “Emergency measures that were intended to be exceptional and temporary have now been firmly embedded into ordinary French law” (Amnesty, 2018). There are even “pre-crime” initiatives that penalize people for an act the government believes they might perform in the future (Amnesty, 2018). There are also control measures that restrict people from leaving a specific town or region, make people have curfews, restrict contact with others (even family members), and require them to make daily police reports (Amnesty, 2018). Many people subject to this compare it to a prison sentence, feeling dehumanized and traumatized (Amnesty, 2018). The people most targeted and subject to this kind of treatment are Muslims, Asylum seekers, and migrants (Human Rights Watch). The French government has overlooked vital parts of their criminal justice system during this process of trying to protect its people.

[amargarone772]

Politcal Landscape Brief

After years of monarchy in France and the spark of the French Revolution, the First Republic of France was established in 1792. It took about 80 years of disorder following this for a stable democracy to be established in France.  The current government is based upon the 1958 constitution which established the Fifth French Republic (Factmonster). Current day, there is a defined separation of powers between the executive and local powers. This includes a strong president who is allowed to serve two, five-year terms, and who is directly elected by the citizens. It is the president’s responsibility to appoint a prime minister and his cabinet who are responsible for the National Assembly (Factmonster). With many French citizens having little confidence in their government, populist leaders have quickly risen. France is reported as the second most populist country in Europe at 70% (Bourekba, 2017). Citizens have expressed a lack of confidence due to little equality, opportunity, and weak political leaders. Terrorist attacks, a struggling economy, and an influx of immigrants have also contributed to these feelings of fear that populist parties like the National Front have utilized to gain followers. One of the main populist parties in France is the National Front, or now known as the National Rally (Edelman), whose president up until 2017 was Marine Le Pen. The party is a right-wing populist and nationalist political party that was first started in 1972 to help unify a multitude of French nationalist movements. They claimed to represent the “little people” and the “forgotten members” against the caste” (Judis, 2017, 3). It was founded by former president Marine Le Pen’s father, Jean-Marie Le Pen. It is most well-known for opposing French membership to the European Union. It had little widespread recognition and popularity up until the 2002 presidential election where Jean-Marie became the first National Front candidate. Jean-Marie was not viewed or represented positively by the main-stream media, which caused his daughter who succeeded him to try to soften the party’s image to gain more popularity and followers. This is why Marine Le Pen is known to have censored the media during the launch of her campaign in 2017 for the presidential election, justifying banning journalists from the website Mediapart and a TV program on TMC because they “treated her differently” compared to other presidential candidates (Reporters Without Borders). The National Front claimed stated this would continue unless these media outlets changed their attitudes toward their party, which critics argue strongly goes against the French Republic’s value of freedom of information (Reporters without Borders).  Despite this censorship, Le Pen is known to have a “media-friendly persona” and political skills that helped bring the Front National Party to national fame (Factmonster). Another prominent populist leader in France is Jean-Luc Melenchon (Bourekba, 2017). He uses the populist approach of needing to get rid of elites who control the country’s wealth and monopolize power; he also rejects globalization and calls for a “Disobedient France” controlled revolt by the people. Similar to Le Pen, he wishes to call for a vote to leave the EU (Bourekba, 2017). While the Front National Party is the most prominent populist party in France, there are other smaller populist parties that have gotten less national attention that also exist.