"In the age of" wokism ", let us choose the republican model for our companies"

"

", said David Brooks in 2017, in an article in the

.

The big brands that we consume every day have become “

”.

Nike is “woke”.

Google and Uber too.

Identity is all the rage.

The word race is no longer taboo.

For many, especially the youngest, “

” embodies the most modern form of engagement.

No wonder a number of companies have grabbed hold of it lately.

There is undoubtedly good in "

", and less good too.

Let us open the debate, not make it the only solution to the social and societal problems of our time;

of inclusion, an untouchable block, a pure concentrate of benevolence that it would be suspect to criticize.

Other ways of thinking exist.

It is urgent to invoke them.

First, because France is not the United States.

Our history and our relationship to History are very different, (which probably explains why

more difficult for us).

We don't have exactly the same problems either, and our approaches to integration, religion, identity are often radically opposed.

Other ways of thinking exist.

It is urgent to invoke them

The petitioners

Let's be realistic: the components of “

” will have a real impact on the company, its raison d'être, its community, its reputation, its capacity for innovation, its freedom of expression.

And if faced with "

", the Republic was for companies, a valuable counter-model for engaging in society?

A counter-model that resembles us and brings us together.

By its ability to deal with the issue of inequalities from a first social prism before being identity-based: classes versus classifications.

By its universalist vision of anti-racism against a purely community reading: fraternity against the clans.

By the primacy given to the collective in the face of the individualistic and sometimes narcissistic drifts of this generation: the policy of “

” against the policy of “

”.

What if, in the face of wokism, the Republic was a valuable counter-model for companies to engage in society?

The petitioners

Companies are expected in this area: 73% of French people want SMEs to play

to "

, and they are 60% for large companies , according to a Havas Paris / Ifop study published in 2020. By republican values, it is a question of

" (92% of

),

(90% ),

(83%

or

(82%).

The priorities set by the French are clear: universalism, equality, merit, exemplarity.

It is up to companies to hear these calls and to fully commit to renewing the links with our French archipelago in their own way.

The petitioners:

Arielle Schwab, Deputy Managing Director of Havas Paris;

Benoit Loze, Director of Strategy at Havas Paris;

Frédéric Dabi, Deputy Director General of Ifop