The feeling of humiliation, a French disease and the driving force behind the RN vote
How can we explain that France, a country admired worldwide for its culture and its savoir vivre, votes overwhelmingly for the National Rally? Because its citizens are – more than in other countries – exposed throughout their lives to countless vexations, answers a German journalist who lives near Nice.
Let’s close our eyes and imagine our neighbor France next Sunday, after the decisive second round of the legislative elections: the country is governed by a Prime Minister who reveres the deniers, with a Minister of Health who intends to treat the sick according to their origins, a Minister of the Family who demonstrates against gay marriage, a Minister of the Environment who wants to dismantle wind turbines and a Minister of Foreign Affairs who still considers himself a great friend of Putin. This is what the government in Paris could look like, if Marine Le Pen’s candidates emerge victorious in the second round after their success in the first, and obtain a majority in the Assembly. This could be how this country, which is among the richest in Europe, and which is fortunate to be endowed with natural beauty and a high standard of living, could be governed.
It’s a paradox: people all over the world admire the French – for their elegance, their culture, their savoir-vivre. But many people in France are feeling so down that the balance of power is deteriorating in their country. If Le Pen won 33% of the vote, it’s partly because the rupture has been going on for decades between the citizens of the provinces and the political bubble in Paris. To understand why the French are turning to the far right, you have to leave the capital and go to the provinces, precisely where Mar
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Source of the article
The Time (Hamburg)
This major political news and analysis journal, founded in 1946 by the British occupying forces and based in Hamburg, belongs to the Holtzbrinck group. Sharp and demanding, tolerant and liberal, it appears every Thursday and is distinguished by its sophisticated layout and iconography.
Based in Berlin, Zeit Online has its own editorial office.
