A keen observer of French political life and columnist for FigaroVox, Maxime Tandonnet has notably published
André Tardieu.
The misunderstood
(Perrin, 2019) and
Georges Bidault: from the Resistance to French Algeria
(Perrin, 2022).
The "old world" seems to be in agony.
The tribulations of the two great political parties of the old world (before 2017) give rise to a strange parallelism.
Olivier Faure and his socialist adversary are fighting to claim the leadership of the PS.
On the side of the Republicans (right LR), the press echoes disagreements between the disappointed supporters of Bruno Retailleau and those of Éric Ciotti for the sharing of internal positions.
On one side or the other, these controversies can only arouse an intense feeling of derision with regard to the national and international issues of the moment.
The Socialist Party dies of having betrayed its original cause, that of Jean Jaurès and Léon Blum, the defense of the working class, in favor of an ecolo-bobo-communautarist discourse under the influence of
Terra Nova
.
Likewise, LR is dying of his ambiguities.
This party claims to be an opposition movement and its 62 deputies were elected with this in mind.
Undermined by opportunist defections since 2017, after having bluntly supported certain absurd and freedom-killing measures during the health crisis (closure of shops, banning of beaches, curfew, vaccination pass), he is now giving his bail to a pension reform, as derisory in terms of the expected benefits as it is unpopular, the real purpose of which is to serve as a trophy or pledge of reformism to Macronist power.
LR now meets all the conditions to be perceived as an ally of the presidential majority.
In history as in politics, mediocrity is always confused with the cult of the leader or an idol to the detriment of the general interest.
Maxime Tandonnet
The “new world” is no better off.
Macronism is already looking for a way out of the new social earthquake it has triggered, the third of this magnitude after the yellow vests and the winter 2019 movement. This new earthquake, voluntarily provoked, in a suffering France, devastated by inflation, the explosion of the public debt, impoverishment, unemployment, insecurity, the failure of its public services (school, hospital), an anxiety-provoking international context, can only amplify the misfortune of more fragile (precarious workers, craftsmen, traders).
In history as in politics, mediocrity is always confused with the cult of the leader or an idol to the detriment of the general interest.
There is no doubt that this movement is doomed to
For the radical left, the disaster is identical, judging by the leftist and absurd drift of the ecologists (like the hunt for Christmas trees or the barbecue).
The political crisis of LFI, torn between a lesson-giving moralism and the unspeakable individual behavior of some of its members, highlights the contradictions that undermine this movement and condemn it in the medium term.
Is the so-called “national” right doing less badly than the others?
Marine le Pen takes care of her international stature by appearing abroad at the very moment when the country is rising up against an unpopular reform: she thus gives the impression of preparing, four years in advance, for her fourth candidacy and fourth consecutive loss (and his clan's ninth after his father's five).
And to allow the election of which ersatz of the current president in 2027?
This so-called national right does not escape, on the contrary, the misery of a French policy which flees the debate of ideas and the common good in idolatry, excessive narcissistic communication blows and the quest for prebends.
It would be wise to reflect on the prospect of adapting certain aspects of the Swiss democratic model in France, based on the banishment of political narcissism.
Maxime Tandonnet
And what about other politicians who, like her, think about their presidential destiny in 2027, while part of the country sinks into daily difficulties and the anguish of tomorrow?
Olivier Faure recently apostrophized his former socialist comrade, once hostile to any increase in the retirement age, now spokesperson for the current reform: “
I am ashamed for you
”.
The formula, denouncing opportunism and schemes, could apply to the entire political class.
And the French, who abstained at 56% during the last legislative elections, could very well take it up on their own and widen its scope...
The bond of trust between the French and national politics seems to be definitely broken.
We would like to be able to speak of a necessary “
refoundation
” or “
rupture
” or even of the “
transformation
” of French politics.
But these words have become inaudible by dint of being overused to cover the impotence and the failure with a cloak of bombast.
It is legitimate to wonder about the future of French democracy in such a context.
The idea of renewing the political class showed its limits in 2017. With "dégagisme", we know what we lose but we don't know what we gain: generally the worst... It would be wiser to reflect to the prospect of adapting in France certain aspects of the Swiss democratic model, based on the banishment of political narcissism, a clearly assumed democracy of proximity and the referendum, local and national, as a central tool for societal choices.
As André Tardieu said on this subject, the French, beyond the contempt they receive from their ruling elites, are no less intelligent or less responsible than others.
