The stupor and the indignation. Friday morning, the French political class attended, dumbfounded, the withdrawal of the candidate (La République en Marche, LREM) Benjamin Griveaux from the municipal campaign in Paris, after the dissemination on the web of private images of a sexual nature. Worried about a “threat to democracy” , politicians of all stripes stand up to defend privacy.
Read also: Benjamin Griveaux renounces the mayor of Paris after the broadcast of a sexual video
Among the mayoral candidates, the socialist Anne Hidalgo and, on the right, Rachida Dati, called for a “dignified” electoral campaign. "Let us reject the voyeuristic sinking of public life in the country," said leader of La France insoumise (LFI), Jean-Luc Mélenchon, on Twitter. "No, all shots are not allowed," he insisted, echoing comments made earlier by Benjamin Griveaux - "I do not want to expose myself more when all shots are now allowed" . Prime Minister Edouard Philippe called for “defending” democracy, while assuring the ex-candidate of his “sympathy” and his “support” , from Le Havre (Seine-Maritime), where he is a candidate.
"Americanization" of political life
In choir, voices denounce a "milestone reached" in an "Americanization of political life", where private life would prevail over the debate of ideas. “Destroying an individual and his family to prevent him from winning is despicable. His private life only concerns him ” , judges the deputy (Les Républicains) Julien Aubert. Former Minister François de Rugy, who resigned from the government last summer, after revelations about his lifestyle, deplores for his part "monstrous violence" and "degradation of our public life ".
"We must also have the collective responsibility of saying: not here, not in France," says Stanislas Guerini, number one of LREM, convinced that "these attacks are not up to the standards of democracy" . Without "boundaries" between private and public life, "there will never be people who want to get involved in politics again," feared spokesman for the National Rally, Sébastien Chenu. "We are not trying to elect saints, but competent women and men" , he wants to believe.
In the intellectual sphere, political scientist Dominique Reynié warned against "hyperviolence" , a "danger for democracy" . "No democratic type of regime can resist such a media regime, which social networks are installing," he pointed to RTL.