Arguments and ideas, visions and projects, for the next six years and for the sidewalk on the street corner. Politics is great! And France is politics, we are the political people. This works out well, the reader is always on the lookout, voting here, voting there.
Next year, we will choose our President, in a few weeks, our mayor. Some of you are even candidates, great! And the campaign is in full swing, in cities and villages, on social networks, and the traditional way is working too – canvassing at the market, the smell of glue on posters, and sweat in public meetings. We talk about health, purchasing power, we argue about security, we dare to express dreams as much as we admit to some fears. Who are you going to vote for, what about you? That’s how it goes everywhere. That’s how it should always be. Reality is more nuanced, not so sure if the word “nuance” is even appropriate.
Welcome to 2026, the new western, where dust has been replaced by mud, but that doesn’t stop them from walking in it, not at all. Quentin’s death is a tragedy. It also represents, for some political figures, an issue, a “pushing advantage,” less than a month before the first round of the municipal elections. Right and left, center, extremes, truth be told, none better than the other. The ulterior motive crushes everything, starting with thoughts. Declarations hold more weight than facts. They denounce violence but practice it in tweets and on TV. A new example was seen in Marseille, where the LR-Renaissance candidate, struggling in the polls, listed her values. She mentioned “merit,” that’s good, then “work, family, country,” the same triptych as the Vichy regime. Martine Vassal, there she is! Did she do it on purpose? If so, it’s despicable. If not: it’s not any better. Her opponents shouted. She defended herself. 48 hours of controversy over it. The people of Marseille deserve better, as does politics.
