To listen to the far-right polemicist Eric Zemmour, France is not far from the apocalypse.
The country whose “children are nostalgic without even having known it” would be “in the process of disappearing”, he declaimed in a dramatic tone in the speech formalizing his candidacy for the presidency last week.
The French “despised by the powerful, the academics, the elites” would have become “exiles from the interior” who would all be inhabited by a “feeling of dispossession”, he insists in his video riddled with violent images that has also been banned for minors by YouTube.
Immigration makes all the problems worse, he says. And it is time to regain power “from the minorities who never stop tyrannizing the majority”, adds the one who has already been condemned for “provoking racial discrimination”.
No doubt, this new incarnation of the French far right gives shivers down the spine. It seems a long way from the political climate in Canada and Quebec, which is frankly more consensual.
But let’s be vigilant. Like the objects in our rearview mirror, Éric Zemmour is perhaps closer to us than he appears.
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At first glance, Canada seems spared the rise of the far right.
Even the right-wing wind that had blown over the provinces, with the arrival of Jason Kenney in Alberta and Doug Ford in Ontario in particular, has lost its breath since the start of the pandemic, which has revived the state interventionism.
Moreover, in the last federal election, all political parties took a step to the left, both Erin O’Toole, who is now criticized by his more conservative wing, and Justin Trudeau, who sought to seduce the neo electorate. -democrat.
In Quebec City, the Liberal Party made an ecological shift during its convention last weekend. In search of a new identity, he even presented even more daring proposals than those of solidarity, in certain respects.
Despite everything, the fragmentation of traditional political parties, here as elsewhere, remains fertile ground for the emergence of the far right. In the face of popular cynicism, the major parties are losing their appeal. This disaffection opens the way for politicians who attract the cameras with shattering speeches… like Maxime Bernier.
Even if he obtained 5% of the vote in the last ballot, it is reassuring to note that his People’s Party did not elect any deputy. It must be said that our voting system is ruthless for the small political parties which are unable to concentrate their votes.
But what will become of Eric Duhaime? Even if his Conservative Party of Quebec does not exceed 7% of the voting intentions at the provincial level, it is worrying to note that it ranks second in the polls, with 18% of the voting intentions in the region of Quebec.
He still remains far behind the Coalition futur Quebec, which controls the center right of the ice.
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Nonetheless, these extra-parliamentary groups have an impact in the political arena, even if they have no elected officials. The enormities they launch percolate into society and can legitimize the racist or conspiratorial ideas of the average citizen.
These politicians can therefore influence the game, even if they are not directly on the parliamentary board.
Take France. Eric Zemmour is struggling to fit into his new politician costume. Voting intentions for him have fallen from 20% to 13% since the launch of his campaign.
He did not help himself by making outrageous and provocative remarks directly in front of the Bataclan, where 90 people died, on the very day of the commemoration of the November 13 attacks.
The former host of CNews also disgusted voters by responding with a middle finger – “very deep”, he said – to a passerby who had made the same gesture. Chic, isn’t it?
But even if he does not pass the second round of the ballot, Éric Zemmour will have put on the agenda themes that could favor Marine Le Pen, a long-time far-right candidate who suddenly seems more presentable, in comparison.
Identity anxiety, Islamophobia, protectionism… Canada and Quebec in particular are not immune to these themes which have divided our societies since the attacks of September 11.
No, Canada does not have the same colonial past as that of France and other European countries which fuels dissension. Due to its geographical location, it is not on the front line of waves of migrants like Europe either. And the consensus surrounding multiculturalism is much more solid there, except in Quebec, where the discourse of certain intellectuals feeds tensions.
But you should never say never. Before Trump’s election, before the Brexit victory, everyone would have thought it was impossible. Canada is not immune to the populism and the social divide that shakes so many countries.
So let’s keep our eyes on the rearview mirror.