Elections in France, conspirators enter the political field
Audio 03:05
The next regional elections in France will be held on June 20 and 27, 2021. © AFP / Clément Mahoudeau
By: Sophie Malibeaux
9 mins
The emergence of so-called “
citizen
”
lists
emanating from the conspiratorial movement intervenes as a new fact on the French political scene on the occasion of the regional elections.
The audience of these new political actors is difficult to measure, but the phenomenon has grown on the internet with the health crisis of Covid-19.
Publicity
These electoral lists resulting from citizens' collectives claim to be "
non-partisan
", with candidates presenting themselves as "
outside the system.
". Because they do not emanate from political formations known until then on the French political scene, their candidates are considered to come from nowhere, which in reality is not quite the case. They are called Un nos monde, France Direct Democracy, or even Essential Union. Their stated objective is to influence the establishment of a participatory democracy, united and respectful of nature. These are the main themes highlighted on their posters and websites. But it is impossible at this stage to find the program they intend to implement. Their common point is that they put in the running a number of candidates who have converted to natural medicine, naturopaths and others, such as Linda Rigaudeau, iridologist and micronutritionist, who leads the Un nos monde-Pays de Loire list.But behind this seemingly harmless showcase, behind the dedication to the defense of well-being by natural means, a whole different story looms.
No, citizen lists don't come out of nowhere
These lists are in fact the product of the Reinfo Covid and Reinfo Libertés collectives, created in the midst of the pandemic.
These associations, totally defiant with regard to the institutions in place and the media, propose to provide the public with an alternative vision of the pandemic.
On the networks, their members or supporters use the terms "
coronacircus
" or "
plandemia
", referring to
conspiracy
theories questioning the very reality of the virus.
"
Plandemia
" being the contraction of a planned epidemic.
Even though they admit the reality of the emergence of the coronavirus, they dispute its treatment by the main media.
They defend an "
alternative
" version of the facts.
". They go so far as to question the seriousness of the pandemic, the number of deaths from Covid-19. They attack the masks, the tests, accuse the authorities of having preferred vaccines to inexpensive treatments. They defend the thesis of a vast plot hatched in the shadows by the elites to control the world population. All the people on these lists do not necessarily adhere to these conspiratorial theses, but those who prompted the creation of these lists are ardent propagators. This is the case of Dr. Louis Fouché who speaks on Reinfo Covid and in countless videos with figures from the conspiratorial sphere, known to disclose on the networks recommendations not validated by the health authorities, such as the use of hydroxychloroquine and other more fanciful solutions.
An unfulfilled political commitment
But Doctor Louis Fouché, at the origin of this new form of political proposal, through citizen lists, does not assume his political commitment.
In one of his latest videos, he makes a point in which he asserts one thing and its opposite.
He insists, saying that for his part, he does not play politics.
But at the same time, he explains having challenged the local collectives to create electoral lists, him, limiting himself to providing the tools to help them hold meetings, to nominate candidates.
"
People do what they want
" in the end, he said, before specifying that of course, those who appear on these lists must respect the charter drawn up with his collective.
He calls on citizens to "
put their finger in the gear
", because anyway according to him, "
the elections are a fool's game
". He believes that we must play, that we must take advantage of it. It is a way of spreading his ideas, a curious
New Age
mix
, naturalizing, anti-science, anti-ax, opposed to the school of the Republic. Ideas that come close to the
precepts of QAnon
, who worships Donald Trump supposed to "
purge society of its elites satanists and pedophiles
".
In one of his videos, Doctor Fouché says, moreover, that after taking care of the elections, he will take care of education, which he is already doing.
He joins in this, an ultra-conservative current, which claims that national education corrupts children and prefers to replace it with another education system.
From politics to sectarian drift
Very followed on social networks, Dr. Fouché is above all concerned about the well-being of people
.
It was then that he referred to sectarian movements like that of Tal Schaller, who advocated urinotherapy, a pseudo therapy encouraging people to treat themselves by drinking their urine. Of course, all the candidates of these so-called citizen lists do not necessarily adhere to these theories, but there is clearly a call to mobilize on these themes cultivating an alternative reality, a call joined by former
"yellow vests"
, present in the meetings and on the Facebook pages of these citizen collectives.
Knowing that the initiators of this movement are advised not to listen to journalists, accused of playing into the hands of the globalist elite, it is possible that the target audience is not well informed of the undersides of this mobilization of a kind new.
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