Navy blue suit, “neither too chic nor too redneck”… fashion among politicians deciphered by experts

The navy blue suit imposed by Nicolas Sarkozy, obligatory tie at the National rally, not at all for Jean-Luc Mélenchon or suit for Rachida Dati, what does fashion mean in politics?

Basics, some daring but above all a convergence of styles whatever the trends. From Nicolas Sarkozy to Emmanuel Macron, Jean-Luc Mélenchon and François Hollande, a look back at developments in the political wardrobe in France, deciphered by experts Pierre-Guillaume Méon and Marc Beaugé interviewed by AFP.

The navy blue suit

The French politician has his uniform, the navy blue suit, fitted and generally a little narrow, accompanied by a white shirt and a thin tie. A range which is beginning to impose itself under Nicolas Sarkozy, signaling the end of the gray flannel suit.

“This navy blue suit sends respectability, authority and above all non-ostentation. We cannot give it a price, accuse it of exaggerated elegance“, analyzes the journalist specializing in men’s fashion Marc Beaugé. According to him, “social democracy, the center, go with this smoothing of style” and a convergence of sartorial cues.

The “neither too chic, nor too redneck”

With some counterexamples, such as the long austere look of the socialist Ségolène Royal before opting for a more casual style in the 2010s.

Women politicians, from the right as well as the left, have also gradually abandoned designer outfits, despite the taste of some for fashion and couture, like the Minister of Culture Rachida Dati, who we see almost exclusively in a pantsuit since entering government.

In the middle of the 2014 World Cup, journalist Marc Beaugé was summoned for two hours to the Elysée, he says, “with prescription“, for image coaching from François Hollande, who gives him the watchword “neither too chic nor too redneck“.

Look left or right?

In 2012, a study published in the Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization asked a sample of French people to assign the political camp of 550 European candidates based on a simple photo. “We looked concretely at what differentiated in people’s heads the appearance of a left or right deputy“, explains its author, the economist Pierre-Guillaume Méon.

“We realized that, in very standardized looks, it was the color of the tie that played a role, red or colored for the left, blue for the right. Then the proportion of deputies with beards and mustaches which is greater on the left“, he adds. “And, finally, glasses, more common on the left than on the right. As well as, for some unexplained reason, showing one’s teeth while smiling, a right marker“, unfolds the economist.

Communication power for the president

The macronie has made the city shoe outdated but praises the uniform of the blue suit, the emblem of the politician. To blend into the background, the ex-lawyer turned Minister of Justice, Eric Dupond-Moretti, also adopts it, especially since this great lover of luxury watches is asked to leave them at home.

Emmanuel Macron, who occasionally appears on his social networks in sportswear or a casual sweatshirt, also masters the power of communication through clothing. On the evening of June 9, to announce the dissolution, the president exceptionally decided to wear a… black suit.

“Better than the average Frenchman” at the RN

Entering the Assembly in force in 2022, the National Rally uses clothing to establish its strategy of demonization. After the legislative elections that year, Marine Le Pen imposed the wearing of ties on all her elected officials, “even though almost no one wears it in France anymore“, notes Marc Beaugé.

“The RN deputy must be better dressed than the average French person“, deciphers the expert, about this so-called strategy”of the tie“.

Tie over for LFI

Jean-Luc Mélenchon, leader of the Insoumis, does not take off his signet-collar jacket, a symbol of worker and revolutionary tradition. France Insoumise (LFI) also immediately politicized the issue of clothing in the chamber.

Accused by LR Renaud Muselier of appearing “dirty and scruffy“, the bloc of LFI deputies seizes the opportunity for a tie happening in the Assembly on July 26, 2022: scruffy outfit and tie on top.