Thomás Zicman de Barros is an economist and teacher, doctoral student in political theory and psychoanalysis at Sciences Po Paris.
On August 29, Jean-Luc Mélenchon was in Châteauneuf-sur-Isère, in the Drôme, to deliver his back-to-school speech. On several occasions, the presidential candidate spoke of “creolization”. A reference to the Martinican writer Édouard Glissant (1928-2011). For the poet, “creolization” is a “
crossbreeding of cultures which produces the unexpected
”. By developing this theme, Jean-Luc Mélenchon makes a choice which bears on the very nature of the rebellious movement, moving away from the sovereignist populism that he espoused since 2010, to try this time to embody a “Creole” or “Creolized” populism. ".
It was for the first time in 2010 that Jean-Luc Mélenchon claimed to be a populist.
In 2016, he created rebellious France, a movement that wants to go beyond any partisan framework, with the claimed aim of espousing a radical left-wing populist strategy.
By considering that the left-right divide is outdated, Jean-Luc Mélenchon is thus seeking to broaden his electoral base by opposing the “people” and the “elites”.
See also Presidential: Jean-Luc Mélenchon wants to become "popular" again
Drawing inspiration from the writings of Chantal Mouffe, a theoretician of leftist populism, he developed an anti-elitist rhetoric to seduce the electorate of the National Rally.
Thus, the leader of rebellious France uses patriotic symbols: the tricolor flag, for example, replaces the scarlet, usually dominant in the rallies of the radical left.
Together, he developed a discourse hostile to the European project and affirmed a sovereignist vision.
By affirming that France does not assume to be this “
meeting of colors and cultures
”, Jean-Luc Mélenchon seeks to mobilize the vote of the urban suburbs, mainly abstentionists.
Thomás Zicman de Barros
However, since the evening of the presidential election, the rebellious candidate has observed the limits of this electoral strategy, failing to attract the voters of Marine Le Pen to himself. Thus, on September 21, 2020, during the inauguration of the
think tank
of the La Boétie Institute, Jean-Luc Mélenchon outlines a turning point in his political speech by adopting the idea of “creolization”.
“Creolization is neither a project nor a program. It is a fact that is evident. It happens on its own. Hence the foolishness of those who attribute creolization to me as a political objective
, ”he declared, protecting himself from the accusations of communitarianism of which he was the object.
The
rebellious
leader
assures us that his words do not contravene “universalism”, on the contrary he speaks of
“universalist humanism”.
“We are all similar in terms of our basic needs but each of us is different from any other”,
he argues, opposing
“an essentialization of beings and their identity”.
However, references to “creolization” transform the republican paradigm, making racism a struggle in its own right in its political project. Thus, by affirming that France does not assume to be this
“meeting of colors and cultures”
, Jean-Luc Mélenchon seeks to mobilize the vote of the urban suburbs, mainly abstentionists.
Jean-Luc Mélenchon and his “Creole” populism divide.
However, without a union with the other left forces, he cannot hope to pass the first round.
Thomás Zicman de Barros
The rebellious France also seems to suffer from an original problem: the dependence vis-à-vis the figure of the leader. From the start the movement was associated with the name of Mélenchon, too dependent on its course, with disproportionately vertical power. The candidate who promises to put an end to the “
presidential monarchy
” - as he nicknamed the Fifth Republic - still plays the role of the “republican king” in his own political formation. Left-wing populism, in France, as among its European neighbors, has tried to renew the relationship between the party and social movements, while giving increased importance to the figure of the leader. Chantal Mouffe considers, for example, that the
leader
has a central function in the very construction of the identity of the people.
So how can rebellious France combine
leadership
and a participatory project?
Moreover, a leader is only useful if he is a unifier.
However, Jean-Luc Mélenchon and his “Creole” populism divide.
And without a union with the other left forces, he cannot hope to pass the first round.
However, the transition from sovereignist populism to “Creole” populism is not complete.
It remains to be seen if this strategy will be his for 2022. For the moment, without a clear definition of his course, the leader of the rebels runs the risk of not being credible and of not finding his electorate for the upcoming presidential election. .