Commentary
Veni vidi Vichy
Simply put, it’s a fact that the French bourgeoisie (and much of the European bourgeoisie) is no longer afraid of the contemporary forms of fascism.
Giving an estimate of the number of seats each party is likely to win in the July 7 runoff remains an arduous and daunting exercise. There are many unknowns, and predictions are altogether tenuous. But there are plenty of clues for us to analyze what has happened in French society, as well as across much of Europe.
Likewise, there is no mystery about where the threat that could bring the far-right to power in Paris is coming from. It’s not from a proletariat embittered by the crisis, nor from a society threatened by real dangers, nor even from the customarily-invoked disorientation induced by globalization.
A perfect litmus test is Eric Ciotti, the Gaullist who has embraced the cause of the National Rally, even at the price of splitting his own party. What do the actions of this sad character tell us?
Simply put, it’s a fact that the French bourgeoisie (and much of the European bourgeoisie) is no longer afraid of the contemporary forms of fascism.
It’s not worried that nationalism or xenophobia might get in the way of trade and the exploitation of labor, it doesn’t care much about the expansion of individual rights as a factor of development (let alone social rights), and its only interest is to ensure that its intentions – however megalomaniacal – and its actions – however unscrupulous – are shielded from all limitation and interference.
The likes of Bolloré and Musk are the arrogant and brazen face of contemporary capitalism, instead of a class with a philosophy of convenience but still to some extent universalistic.
Not surprisingly, they are minor deities for the far right; if they were Russian, we would not hesitate to call them “oligarchs.” This is not to say, of course, that the National Rally doesn’t enjoy a strong following among the people mistreated by Macronism and doesn’t respond to the frustrations of a downgraded and embattled petty bourgeoisie. But the leaders and the promises they make definitely come from the upper echelons of the elites, who, having opened the gates for the far right, are now finding ways to make use of it.
Simply put, the groups of the radical right thrive on the divorce that has occurred between neoliberalism and liberal principles. This is precisely what is putting the so-called moderate right out of business, and rendering President Macron's republican rhetoric ridiculous.
But let us come to the point.
The outcome of the runoff will depend to a good extent on how much of the bourgeoisie lined up behind Macron's ranks (and those who listen to his voice) will lean toward the disposition of Ciotti's Gaullists, choosing to embark on a nationalist venture with firm reactionary roots rather than risk an outcome that is obviously not the advent of Bolshevism, but rather a mild return of Keynesian and social democratic policies.
For years, the demonization of the left by the centrists and Macron has been working to favor, at the limit, a systematic leaning towards the right, and it’s not easy to abruptly change course when one belatedly realizes that the enemy is breaking through from another direction entirely and would represent a far more dangerous breakthrough.
The fact remains that the New Popular Front represents the only credible bulwark against the far-right seizing power, and this carries significant weight in French public opinion.
This is despite the fact that every argument, plausible and implausible, has been deployed in order to subtract support from the left. Starting with the alleged anti-Semitism Mélenchon's party is supposedly guilty of, while the National Rally, historically a hotbed of racist and anti-Semitic sentiments, is being given a clean bill of health because it supports the Israeli government.
The argument is purely exploitative, as one can find traces of anti-Semitism, as well as intransigent condemnations of the same, across practically all of the French political spectrum – in much smaller proportion, however, compared to the anti-Arab racism that thrives on the right.
But it should be clear to everyone by now that the problem is not actual anti-Semitism (which has always targeted Jews and their culture, not the policies of a particular state), but the obligation to refrain from any condemnation of the Tel Aviv government and the massacre of the Palestinian population in Gaza and the West Bank.
Originally published at https://ilmanifesto.it/la-porta-dingresso-dei-fascismi on 2024-07-02