Between Vichy and the Republic
The National Front hasn't changed. It just learned how to articulate its longstanding racism and xenophobia with mainstream French republican discourse.
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A New Beginning
Despite its defeat today, the Mélenchon campaign created big opportunities for recomposition on the French left.
Emmanuel Macron Is Now a Lame-Duck President
France’s president called snap elections to show the country was still behind him. It backfired massively — and last night’s first-round results suggest Marine Le Pen’s far right will dominate the new parliament.
Emmanuel Macron Is Not Your Friend
Emmanuel Macron is a Silicon Valley-loving, union-hating, Third Way centrist. He’s no bulwark against the far right.
Macron’s Gift to the Rich
Surprise, surprise: Emmanuel Macron's first budget slashes taxes on wealth and guts social spending.
Emmanuel Macron Is Using the Pandemic to Massively Expand Police Powers
Emmanuel Macron’s administration has used the pandemic as a pretext to create police powers extending far beyond any rational response to COVID-19. It’s the latest in a long line of French governments using moments of national crisis to shred basic civil liberties.
Attacking Migrants to Coax Marine Le Pen
France’s interior minister, Bruno Retailleau, was chosen as a sop to the far right — and now he is tightening rules on migrant regularization. Emmanuel Macron’s government is increasingly serving Marine Le Pen’s policy agenda before she even reaches power.
The European Conundrum
With last week’s elections, commentators are heralding the “end of Europe,” but the evidence tells a different story.
Emmanuel Macron Has Handed Another Win to the Far Right
France’s parliament passed a migration bill limiting birthright citizenship, but on Thursday the Constitutional Court struck down parts of the law. Some pro-government figures call this a good compromise — recklessly relying on judges to correct MPs’ votes.
The Clout Chasers and Hacks Behind the French Revolution
The hyperelitist world of prerevolutionary France fostered resentment among writers excluded from salons and high society. This bitterness proved a fertile breeding ground for revolution led by writers who targeted their anger at the old order.
Emmanuel Macron’s Pension Reform Will Make Workers Toil Till They Drop
Today brought mass strikes against Emmanuel Macron’s “retirement reform” in France. Increasing both the pension age and the number of years workers have to work, the planned measure will see more French people die before they get any retirement at all.
Unions Can Keep Workers From Falling Prey to the Far Right
The center has no convincing way to account for unemployment and low wages. Workers are compelled to choose between the solutions provided by the Right and the Left — and unionization can make all the difference in how they choose.
Air Afrique Was a Powerful Symbol of African Liberation
After winning their independence from France, some of Africa’s new states banded together to form their own airline. The rise and fall of Air Afrique mirrors the hopeful age of postcolonial liberation and Africa’s subsequent neoliberal regression.
The Dangers of Detoxification
The FN’s new image doesn’t mean the far-right party had a change of heart — it means the mainstream has accepted its program.
The Centrist Cul-de-Sac
Even if Macron wins, five more years of neoliberalism in France could further bolster Le Pen's National Front.
Emmanuel Macron’s Government Has Banned Solidarity With Palestine
France has issued a blanket ban on pro-Palestine rallies in the name of preempting potential antisemitism. In a witch-hunt atmosphere, all who refuse to give unconditional support for Israel’s looming invasion of Gaza are treated as “pro-terrorist.”
Resisting the Macron Surge
Today's French parliamentary election marks a new phase in plans for a grand coalition of anti-labor forces.
Salvador Allende’s Struggle Lives on in Today’s Socialism
Rodrigo Arenas was just a baby when his mother was forced to flee Augusto Pinochet’s Chile. Now he’s an MP for left party La France Insoumise — and, as he tells Jacobin, struggles in his homeland continue to inspire the French left.
Emmanuel Macron Is Creating a Liberalism Without Civil Liberties
On Tuesday, France's National Assembly passed a bill effectively banning citizens from posting videos of police officers. Emmanuel Macron is trampling on historic press freedoms in order to prove himself as a "law-and-order" president — an authoritarian turn which makes a mockery of his claimed defense of liberal values.
Jean-Paul Sartre Took a Stand Against Empire
Jean-Paul Sartre came to prominence just as France was trying to cling onto its empire in a series of bloody wars. He used his platform as a public intellectual to speak out bravely against colonial repression, risking his own life in the process.