Civil War In France?

Will They Try To Sabotage Democratic Decision Making?

All eyes in Europe and in all Western democracies should be on France. Yes, there are numerous elections in Western societies this year but the consequences of what happens in France’s parliamentary contest is potentially the most significant for the future of democracy.

At the time of writing, the right-wing, sovereigntist, Rassemblement National (RN) is leading in the polls and if they succeed to win the election the balance of power would shift away from a federalist European Union (EU) towards a Europe of Nations.

In the eyes of the managerial class that lords over the EU, the RN represents an unwelcome patriotic alternative to its globalist outlook. Within France, the old technocratic order is doing its best to prevent its populist opponents from gaining power.

The effect of an RN victory in the election would be to signal that one of the most important European nations has rejected the prevailing cosmopolitan technocratic order. It would prove to the people of Europe that it is possible to break the hold of EU oligarchy over public life. Ominously, it also raises the question of whether the powerful political and economic interest that dominate the institutions of French society would respect the result of democratic decision making.

The RN faces an all-out campaign of vilification. Denounced as a far-right threat to democracy its opponents conveniently ignore the fact that it was through the ballot box that the RN succeeded in coming first in this month’s election to the European Parliament. The hypocrisy of representing this beneficiary of democracy as a threat to it illustrates the cynicism of the RN’s critics. According to the playbook promoted by the EU oligarchy, parties like the RN are populists and populist parties are automatically branded as extreme right.

The labels ‘extreme right’ or ‘far right’ or ‘hard right’ are an invention of vested interest who constantly rely on the rhetoric of scaremongering to promote their propaganda. Their playbook asserts that the so-called extreme right does not respect democracy and therefore represents a clear and present danger to freedom. The implication of this tendentious argument is that since a party like the RN constitutes a danger to democracy it should not be able to benefit from it.

The alarmist Politics of Fear directed at the RN is further amplified by the idealogues of the French Left who represent their opponents as an existential threat comparable to the one represented by the fascists in the 1930s. Having framed the situation in France as comparable to that of the 1930s, the militant sections of the French Left claim that they have the duty to take matters into their own hands. In recent weeks there have ben numerous violent demonstrations directed against the very existence of the RN. Many of these demonstrators have indicated that should the RN win the coming election they will not accept its legitimacy. In effect their behaviour indicates that should the RN triumph, they are ready to unleash a conflict that is tantamount to a Civil War. That is why in recent years there has been so much discussion about the very real possibility of a Civil War erupting in France.

During the past decade the polarised political landscape has frequently provoked discussions about the threat posed by civil strife. France is not only polarised along ideological but also along cultural lines. The numerous riots that have broken out in neighbourhoods that are principally inhabited by immigrants are often directed against the police as well as the symbols of the French republic.

Three years ago, after an outbreak of rioting in Paris and other parts of France, twenty retired French generals wrote an open letter to President Macron warning that the country was heading for ‘deadly civil war’ due to religious extremism. Around 1,000 army personnel put their names to the letter. ‘The hour is grave, France is in peril’, the signatories said. The letter blamed ‘fanatic partisans’ for creating divisions between communities and warned that Islamists were taking over parts of France. The letter denounced ‘a certain anti-racism’ for splitting up communities, and seeking to create ‘racial war’ by attacking statues and other aspects of French history. The signatories concluded that ‘The hour is grave, France is in peril’.

Since the publication of this letter in April 2021, the situation has gone from bad to worse. After the riots of the summer of 2023, the French intellectual, Alain Finkielkraut noted that this outbreak of violence was the latest episode of a conflict between two groups , one of which respected the  Republican values of the nation and those who hate the French Republic. He referred to the riots as symptom of the ‘Lebanonisation’ of France. The rioters, who often displayed an unrestrained hostility to France specifically targeted symbols of the French Republic. During last summer talk of a Civil War became widespread. Two French police unions openly stated that they were ‘at war…with vermin’. In contrast, sections of what can be best described as a coalition of Leftists and Islamists praised the rioters. Jean-Luc Mélenchon, leader of the leftist party La France Insoumise blamed the police for the riots and claimed that ‘the poor were rioting’. The newspaper Libération echoed Mélenchon in its headline ‘The people are rebelling!’.

Concern about the climate of violence and cultural anxiety about the future of France form a background to the electoral success of the RN. Protestors, who aim to prevent the election of the RN are also hostile to the affirmation of the cultural identity of France. One of France’s leading actors, Omar Sy articulated this sentiment when he attacked the ‘far right’ and the police. He denounced ‘people who are spitting out their hatred and trying to revive a France of the past with very set ideas’. For Sy – the star of the series Lupin – those who stand for the France of the past are the cultural enemies of his way of life. For that reason political parties that promote an identity rooted in France’s past are not just represented as political opponents but also as enemies!

Leftwing protestors targeting the RN are by no means the only threat to democratic decision making. A far more serious problem is the determination of the French and European elites to scare people off from supporting the RN. Groups of civil servants have joined the campaign to undermine the RN should it be elected to form a government. ‘In conscience and responsibility, we will not obey’ the decision of an RN Government, stated a statement by a group of 200 civil servants in France’s education sector. The casual way they expressed their decision to ignore the legitimacy of an elected government highlights the contempt with which they regard the results of a democratic election not to their liking.

In recent weeks celebrities and sports stars have been mobilised to attack the RN[v]. More than 200 French athletes and sporting personalities have signed an open letter calling on voters to reject the RN. This campaign, headed by the football star Kylian Mbappé aims to use the power of celebrity culture to undermine support for the RN. Numerous actresses including the Oscar-winning Marion Cotillard, 48, social media influencers such as Léna Mahfouf, 26, and sports stars including Antoine Dupont, 27, the captain of France’s national rugby team, have all joined the anti-RN coalition.

The coalition of elite interests committed to preventing the RN from forming a government is also supported by global financial institutions. They along with the EU oligarchy claim that the formation of an RN Government would lead to an economic disaster for France.

Goldman Sachs has warned that an RN victory will raise French debt to post-war high. Hysterical statements by financial institutions about an impending economic melt-down under a RN Government are designed to frighten voters who care about their economic security. The French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire has joined the fray and in alarmist tone raised the spectre of a financial disaster should the opponents of President Macron win the election. He stated that France could be forced to subject itself to the supervision of the International Monetary Fund and the European Commission, should Macron’s opponents gain power and implement their economic policies.

To demonstrate that they mean business, powerful economic institutions have contrived to ensure that French bond yields rose to their highest level since the euro-crisis thus making it more expensive to borrow money. The political analyst Thomas Fazi has described this as ‘nothing more than financial terrorism aimed at influencing the upcoming elections’].

The unholy alliance of left-wing street activists, celebrities, sport stars, civil servants and financial institutions are determined to ensure that whatever the outcome of the French parliamentary elections, the RN should be prevented from forming a government. They will use every means at their disposal to achieve this objective. If despite their efforts, the RN succeeds and wins the elections they will do their best to sabotage and prevent a change in government.

Not since May 1958, when the nation faced a coup that led to overthrow of the Fourth French Republic has France faced a crisis comparable to the one that confronts it today. Hopefully France can avoid a descent into a Civil War. If the RN wins the election and is not prevented from taking office it will send out a signal of inspiration to all those in Europe who look towards a populist solution to the problems they confront. May Democracy have the last word!

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