“Pot of shame” for some, “support for law enforcement” for others: a crowdfunding campaign in support of the policeman who shot a 17-year-old Franco-Algerian, launched by a far-right polemicist French, arouses both strong enthusiasm and strong opposition.
This initiative by a former adviser to Marine Le Pen and Éric Zemmour has amplified the divisions within French society, shaken for a week by riots of rare intensity.
The law enforcement support operation raised 1.6 million euros (about 2.3 million Canadian dollars) on Tuesday evening in France. This is four times more than the campaign to support the family of young Nahel Merzouk, who was shot and killed during a road check on June 27. At the time these lines were written, the kitty organized for the mother of the victim amounted to 400,000 euros.
This crowdfunding campaign was launched on the GoFundMe platform by Jean Messiha, a well-known figure on the French far right. He has said over the past few days that he would rather “make a kitty for a police officer than for an offender”.
The police officer found himself in prison “having done his job. I support France, those who serve France, ”he told the CNEWS channel.
Seduction campaign
This strategy of Jean Messiha aims to “de-demonize” the far right and soften its image by showing civic-mindedness, support and solidarity, says David Morin, co-holder of the UNESCO Chair in the prevention of violent radicalism and extremism. , at the University of Sherbrooke.
This image of appeasement contrasts with the riots which have arisen in several large French cities in the last week, underlines the professor.
“With this jackpot, the far right is positioning itself with a security and pro-police discourse in addition to consolidating the vote of the police who, in past elections, leaned strongly towards the National Rally,” he explains. .
This uninhibited discourse of the French far right is inspired, according to him, by the movements of the United States which are based on a cultural war and on the idea of a clash of civilizations.
Support for repression
Political scientist Jean-Yves Camus, co-director of the Observatory of Political Radicalities, at the Institute of International and Strategic Relations (IRIS), in Paris, also observes that Jean Messiha’s campaign goes far beyond the simple momentum of generosity towards a peace officer.
“The policeman, who is currently under examination, his family and his lawyer have not asked for anything,” argues the professor.
He estimates that the 83,000 donors to the police support campaign support a form of “repression vis-à-vis the populations of working-class neighborhoods and specifically people of immigrant origin”.
The contributors to the Messiha initiative would thus argue that “the police are always right and that people who live in working-class neighborhoods, and more specifically people with an immigrant background, even if they are of French nationality, are always wrong. », indicates Jean-Yves Camus.
In his public speeches, Jean Messiha opposed the French supporters of the law and those who sow chaos. “Their world is falling apart. Ours is reborn. Thank you and well done! “. These words posted on Messiha’s Twitter account are a reference to the political program Reconquête!, the movement of Éric Zemmour, during the 2022 presidential campaign, according to Professor David Morin.
In a video published at 6 p.m. France time, Jean Messiha announces the closing of the kitty the same evening at midnight. Seated in front of a chessboard, the figure on the right thanks the contributors who, according to him, have “shown [leur] support [aux] forces of order who, on a daily basis, fight for France to remain France”. He also informs his audience that he is creating a support fund for law enforcement agencies facing difficulties.