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2022-04-07T11:14:41.304Z


The Republican Party "moved to the center", Le Pen "abandoned national values" and Eric Zamor "too extreme" The right-wingers in France, Jews and non-Jews alike, recognize a resemblance to Israel


The tranquility that prevails in the streets of the beautiful French resort town of Nice, in these early spring days - is deceptive.

Rich Nice, one of the centers of power of the conservative right in the south of France, is a micro-cosmos of the main power struggle in the French presidential election campaign - over the spirit and future of the French right.

The tourist city has been ruled for decades by the Republican right, or rather the more right-wing wing of the Republican Party, following in the footsteps of the founder of the Fifth Republic, Charles de Gaulle.

In Nice, as in most parts of southern France, the Le Pen family's party in its various incarnations - formerly the "National Front", now the "National Union" - has enjoyed the highest support rates since the 1990s.

And now the Jewish journalist Arik Zamor, and his new party, "Re-Conquest," are joining the competition for the hearts of right-wing voters in Nice and the south of France.

Nice reflects well on the political drama taking place on the French right: division and internal quarrels, which keep the right out of power precisely when conditions and circumstances for his return to power were created, after ten years of long and frustrating opposition.

The mayor of Nice, Christian Astrozi - who previously served as a minister in Republican right-wing governments - sat on behalf of the Republicans in the National Assembly and ran on their behalf for the mayor of Nice, forming his own party and not hiding his support for President Emanuel Macron.

The Republican primary candidate, Eric Siotti, who has hawkish positions, could attract many right-wing voters who want to see in the Elysee Palace a president who pursues a clear right-wing policy and is committed to preserving French national identity, improving personal security and curbing mass immigration.

But he lost in the primaries to the center-right candidate, Valerie Packers, whose support rates in the presidential race are steadily declining.

The district branch of Zamor's party suffered a major setback when three weeks ago its leader, Benoit Kendall, slammed the door following rumors that Philip Vardon - the leader of the New Right movement, a former senior nationalist activist with a record of violent inclinations - had joined the party. .

"I do not want a party to be a replica of the 'National Front,' and we do not want the Nazi songs of Vardon and his friends," Kendall declared.

Vardon did not finally join the choir, and this week formed his own party.

But even though Zamor's chances of qualifying for the second round of the presidential election are slim, many of the "National Front" voters and activists have rallied to help him.

They do not like the moderate and central branding adopted by Marin Le Pen, but if she is the one to face Macron, as expected, they will shut up and vote for her.

Many French people will vote in presidential elections, if at all, for those they hate less, to prevent the victory of those they hate more.

This is a hate vote, not a support vote.

Zmor, Photo: AFP

A political soap opera

In and around Nice, a fascinating and explosive demographic integration took place between the nationalist "Algerian French" who immigrated here after France relinquished Algeria, and the Jewish and Muslim immigrants from North African countries.

Six years ago, Nice experienced one of the deadliest terrorist attacks perpetrated by Muslim extremists on French soil: On National Day, July 14, 2016, an ISIS operative carried out an assault on a crowd celebrating on the promenade, killing 86 people.

About two years ago, in October 2020, an extremist Islamist slaughtered three people in a well-known basilica in the city.

Violence is not uncommon on the city streets, but instead of uniting against it, the local right splits: some fear the "extreme right", which distorts the meaning of the feeling of French patriotism, hence the support for the center-left president, Macron.

The "extremists," Le Pen and Zamor, accuse each other of lack of patriotism: according to Zamor, Le Pen became part of the political establishment and abandoned its national principles;

Le Pen and its people claim that Zamor is the "extreme right", and that they have become the true representatives of the French right.

"Dallas" - this is what the local media calls what is happening on the right, in reference to the popular American television series from the 80s, which dealt with the many intrigues in the arms of one family.

The resentment among the right-wing camps is so strong that even if a majority of right-wing voters unite around a candidate in the second round of the presidential vote, polls predict that they will not be able to get the majority needed to oust Macron.

A reality that sounds familiar to the average Israeli?

Even the right-wing French, Jews and non-Jews alike, see quite a bit of similarity.

Jews and anti-Semites

The port of Nice, where many yachts moor at the foot of the castle overlooking the city, is crowded all days of the week.

On one of its banks is the headquarters of the Republican Party.

Not far from it, a group of supporters of Zamor to passersby returned a pamphlet with the main points of the platform of the Jewish presidential candidate, who wants to "reconquer" France.

The party does not yet have a headquarters in Nice, for economic and security reasons.

Their work is concentrated on the street.

"Re-occupation," by the way, is the motto of the right-wing right-wing movement (from the word "identity"), which in Europe is considered an extreme and anti-Muslim right-wing movement, which attracts mainly young people.

Zamor's activists in the port of Nice, on the other hand, are older, and are a mixture of former "National Front" voters and Jews.

Packers, Photo: AFP

Thirty years ago, such a unification of forces was unthinkable.

The "National Front" under Jean-Marie Le Pen was considered a stronghold of anti-Semitism and Holocaust denial.

Marin Le Pen distanced her father from a position of influence in the party and courted the Jewish community, but in the eyes of many Jews she remained assigned due to disgust.

But the Islamist threat allowed Arik Zamor to forge a partnership between two publics, who had previously faced each other.

Since the announcement of his candidacy, Zamor has claimed he is the only one capable of producing unity in the ranks of the "real" right.

He even managed to recruit to his party the popular niece of Marin Le Pen, Marion Marshall, from the pillars of the "new right" in France.

However, in the eyes of the general public, he inherited Le Pen's place on the far right and made it more moderate and acceptable.

Disappointed with the traditional right

Sylvie, a retiree in her late 60s, says that although she has always been a right-wing voter, Zamor made her take to the streets for the first time in her life and become a field activist.

"We have only experienced disappointments from right-wing leaders in the last 20 years," she explains.

"When Nicolas Sarkozy was elected president in 2007, we had high hopes that a man would finally come to the Elysees who would shake France and get it back on track. He would return France to the French. It did not happen. Zamor, unlike other politicians, does not take anyone into account. He says what many French people think, but are afraid to say: If we do not act now, France will be finished in a few years. Eliminated. It is now or never. More hope. "

Alexander Barbie, a businessman and member of the Jewish community, is also among the distributors of Zamor's platform leaflets.

He also voted for Sarkozy at the time.

He, too, has now, for the first time in his life, become a political activist.

"Le Pen is not fit to serve as president," he explains of his support for the psalm.

"She does not have the necessary skills for the job. She is also very moderate in her positions in an attempt to attract the center to her. But, if she faces Macron in the second round, I will vote for her. Without hesitation. The Jewish community leadership boycotts her, still, In any case, in the elections, it is possible to give up contact with her. Makron paid tribute to the leaders of the Jewish community, so they follow him.

Sacrificing ideas.

Sergian, Photo: Eldad Beck

The support for the psalm is enormous.

We are experiencing very severe violence from Muslim immigrants, and the authorities are doing nothing.

My nephews were at the Otzar Torah school in Toulouse, when the four Jews were murdered there a decade ago by an Islamist.

It is an unhealed trauma, for the whole family.

"I lived in other countries - in the United States, in Romania. There is fear of the police and respect for them. Here the police are not felt. The police are afraid of the criminals. It is reminiscent of the situation created in Israel."

The substrate booklets are quickly running out for Zamor's field activists.

Few passers-by ignore them, or react with hostility.

Many say with a smile that they already have the substrate at home.

Activists call the person in charge to replenish the inventory.

Her name is Rebecca Turgman, a 37-year-old surgeon, born in Kfar Saba, whose parents returned to Nice when she was 3 and has lived here ever since.

"We were orphans without a real right-wing party for a very long time," Rebecca explains of her mobilization for Zamor.

"We've been following Zamor on TV for 15 years, and his sincerity has convinced us. I totally do not care that they say we, the 'Zamorists,' are far right. When I ask people why they think so, they have no answer. They repeat empty slogans heard on TV. 120,000 people Join our party within a few months. There has been no such thing in the political history of France. Zamor's appearances on television attract the most viewers. His conferences are flooded with supporters. ".

Rebecca and Alexander see many similarities between the right-wing wars in Israel and the right-wing wars in France, as well as the fact that parts of the right have lost their ideological identity: So voters have two options: a psalm for the traditional conservatives, and a macaroon for the progressives and the 'voters'. "

Rebecca does not feel uncomfortable with the closeness between Zamor and "Identitators".

"This is not the extreme right of yesteryear," she explains.

"They want France to remain French. There are people here who have been attacked, and people who have defended themselves and been imprisoned, while attackers have been sent to citizenship classes. It is a bit reminiscent of what is happening in Israel, and I hope you do not get into this situation." "I grew up on them. It is natural that the French want to preserve their identity as we, the Jews, have done for 2,000 years."

Sarkozy precipitation

Despite the very gloomy forecasts of the polls, the Republican Party headquarters are preparing to man as many polling stations as possible in the voting round on Sunday, and still hope that the presidential race for them will not end then.

On the front of the staff hangs an election slogan, which could easily have been used by Le Pen and Zamor: "so that France will remain France."

"We were orphans."

Turgman, Photo: Eldad Beck

24-year-old Alexander Sergian is the head of the Young Republicans' shift in Nice.

He studied law, preparing himself for a career in law.

His ancestors came to France from the Armenian parts of Turkey, following the genocide that began in 1915, and is the fourth generation of successful immigration, which has become part of the diverse fabric of French identity.

Sergei attributes to the mayor of Nice, astrocyte, opportunism, due to his support for Macron.

“He was a rigid right and sacrificed his ideas, unlike Eric Siotti, who remained true to his conservative and national principles, understanding that the world was advancing and evolving and therefore a reformist, not revolutionary, approach was needed.

"A fundamental issue for the conservative right is the desire not to differentiate others and to differentiate. We want to absorb people, unlike the extreme right. We do not oppose Islam. Muslims can observe their religious customs in France. On the other hand, we talk openly about the problems with extremist Islam. "We are sovereign patriots. Not nationalists. We do not want to isolate France in the international arena, but we want France to have its own voice in the world, as de Gaulle demanded."

"Zamor also claims to represent de Gaulle's golemism, and La Pen also speaks in the name of gulism. So where does the border between you go?" I ask.

"It's surprising on the part of Le Pen that she adopts de Gaulle, since her party's roots lie in collaborating with the Nazis," Sergian emphasizes.

"With Zamor, things are more complex. He has an interesting worldview, but the solutions he offers are not good. We come with practical solutions, not with slogans. We have a broad party structure, people with abilities and practical experience, that will allow us to manage state affairs. "The big problem with the Macron administration is that it does not have experienced people who have been able to deal with the many crises of recent years, and this is also the problem with the Le Pen and Zamor parties."

The name of Nicolas Sarkozy, the former president immersed over his neck in trials involving various corruption cases attributed to him, is mentioned in the French media as one of the top Republican supporters behind the scenes at Macron.

In return, it is reported, Sarkozy demanded to determine who will be the next prime minister.

Sergian does not believe Sarkozy is working to thwart Packers to pave the way for his return to politics and the presidency in five years.

"I would have been happy if he had returned to politics, but I do not think it will happen," he estimates.

"As in the case of Netanyahu in Israel, we are witnessing the authorities' eagerness to raise new cases against Sarkozy each time. There is an impression that investigations are always being conducted against those people who come from the right. We need to formulate new ideological software. , But also about the left. We need to get back to our ideology. Talk about identity, freedom and authority. It will not happen immediately, but over time. We need to rebuild ourselves in the long run,

"And if she faces Pan Macron, who will she vote for?" I ask.

"In the meantime, I want to believe that Packers will represent the right in the second round," he elegantly evades. 

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Source: israelhayom

All news articles on 2022-04-07

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