Illustration of the spread of the Covid-19 coronavirus. - Avishek Das / SOPA Images / Sipa U

  • Between a shortage of masks and late detection, the French are increasingly judging government action.
  • The hashtag #IlsSavaient, associated with the keyword #OnNoublieraPas have thus emerged on social networks in recent days, and are now among the most discussed topics on Twitter.
  • "These keywords now concentrate all anger, and also a form of anxiety", explains Pascal Froissart, lecturer at the University of Paris VIII and researcher at the Center for Media, Technology and internationalization.
  • "They bring together all the dissatisfaction of those who have the feeling of having been deceived," adds Philippe Pascot, one of the figures of the yellow vests.

"The number of positive cases doubles every three to four days" ... After almost two weeks of confinement, the coronavirus continues dangerously to progress in France. Since the start of the epidemic, 2,314 people have died and more than 17,000 are currently hospitalized, including 4,200 in intensive care. At the same time, distrust of the government is growing. If the popularity ratings of Emmanuel Macron and Edouard Philippe progress, 73% of French people believe that the government is not up to par, according to a survey by the Elabe institute published on Wednesday.

Between a shortage of masks and late detection, the French are increasingly judging government action. The hashtag #IlsSavaient, associated with the keyword #OnNoublieraPas (or #OnNoublieraRien) have emerged on social networks in recent days, and are now among the most discussed topics on Twitter. Many internet users criticize the executive for not having anticipated the health crisis. Many thus accuse the authorities of having delayed reacting and of not being sufficiently transparent in the management of the crisis.

"These hashtags today concentrate all anger"

"The hashtag #IlsSavaient appeared on Twitter on Saturday March 21, just after the statement by Agnes Buzyn who claimed to have warned the government of the seriousness of the Covid-19 epidemic, as early as January," explains Pascal Froissart , lecturer at the University of Paris VIII and researcher at the Center for Media, Technology and Internationalization Studies (CÉMTI). The words of the former Minister of Health were widely shared, and quickly ignited the powder on social networks. “#They knew and did nothing. Heads must fall quickly "or" #They knew and are trying to make us responsible for their negligence (...) Macronia forces us to go to work, to try to save the interests of finance, "tweeted some internet users.

#They knew and did nothing
Buds must fall quickly pic.twitter.com/qlDWsdHWO8

- nico l arsouille (@nicolarsouil) March 21, 2020

According to the Socioviz tool, the hashtag has been shared tens of thousands of times and continues today to feed the thread of discussions on Twitter, accompanied by the keywords # covid19, but also #politique, #masques, #lrem , # government ... "It is also often associated with themes such as police violence, opposition to the government," yellow vests "... It now concentrates all anger, and also a form of anxiety", adds the sociologist, rumor specialist.

In blue, the keywords most co-cited with #TheyKnow: # covid19 of course, but also #politics, #masks, #lrem, #gouvernement, #supportalcare… - Socioviz

In addition to criticism of the government's lack of anticipation, many internet users have also denounced via these hashtags a two-tier health system. "You have the right to the test, and the French are dying with their mouths open" thus became angry a Twitter user in response to the message from the Secretary of State, Emmanuelle Wargon, who announced last week that she had tested positive for coronavirus . “#They knew and decided to sacrifice us. No test for the beggars, "shared another surfer, with a link to the video of European Commissioner Michel Barnier, explaining all smiles to have also been tested positive at Covid 19.

Emmanuelle Wargon "diagnosed positive for Coronavid19" with "mild symptoms", after franckriester and brunepoirson

We will not forget that during this time
- the nursing staff demands tests
- ordinary people do not have access to the tests https://t.co/F4Rknauekh

- MamYZabelle (@MamYZabel) March 22, 2020

“A mobilization is being born on social networks”

This crisis now seems to reveal a social fracture that is very present in the country. “These keywords bring together all the dissatisfaction of those who feel they have been deceived. The “they” designate “the elites” who were slow to act despite their information and who today lack transparency in the management of the coronavirus epidemic, ”explains the writer Philippe Pascot, one of the figures of the yellow vests movement, author of the book State Lies (Max Milo Editions). “A kind of mobilization is emerging on social networks. There is a general fed-up of these politicians who have a free hand [to get tested or to be treated with chloroquine], of these wealthy Parisians who fled to the provinces, of those who have to work while others stay at home! "

pic.twitter.com/GCAnlsh8EO

- Philippe Pascot (@philipepascot) March 28, 2020

Political scientist Jérôme Sainte-Marie also explains that "this crisis is a tremendous revealer of social tensions". “It worsens the imaginary class struggle, between enforcement agents forced to go to the workplace and their executives teleworking in their second home. This fuels anger that could prepare for a terrible end to the crisis, ”analyzes the political scientist, author of Bloc contre bloc (éditions du Cerf).

A “giletjaunisation” of the crisis?

For some, the content of the messages relayed under the banner “#IlsSavaient” also reminds those massively shared in 2018 on social networks by “yellow vests”. "There are indeed many activists and Facebook groups of yellow vests who share these hashtags daily," recognizes Philippe Pascot. "But it's much deeper. It is all the French people who screams. Even the upper middle class who still defended Macron a little and his politics are now angry! "

The sociologist Pascal Froissart also refuses to reduce this mobilization to simple yellow vests. “It is a movement of defiance against the institutions, a citizen anger. To say that it is a "giletjaunisation" would be to immediately disqualify this speech, and to deny a reality. Contrary to what we have read, these hashtags are not the sign of a conspiracy. They reflect a real concern of part of the population ”.

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  • By the Web
  • Twitter
  • Coronavirus
  • Covid 19
  • epidemic
  • Disease
  • Social
  • Yellow vests
  • Inequality
  • Anger