The political class considers the incident a dangerous sign that affects democracy... and the authority reduces its danger

President Macron's slapping incident divides France

• The “slap” expresses the pent-up hatred of some against the president.

  Reuters

• The "yellow vests" may be demonstrating again.

  archival

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The incident of the slap faced by French President Emmanuel Macron, during a tour inside France, last Tuesday, raises controversy between the government, which sees it as an "isolated act", and some analysts who question the degree of refusal of the head of state that this act translates to, less than a year before the presidential elections. .

Prosecutors said yesterday that the man who slapped Macron, Damien T, 28, is a fan of medieval history and a subscriber to far-right websites.

All the political class condemned the slap, considering it a dangerous gesture that affects democracy, while the authorities downplayed its danger.

It is unlikely that the government spokesman would see it as a symbol of the French “anger” against Macron, and Gabriel Attal asserts that if there are “worried, suspicious and angry French people (...), they know how to express this in the context of the debate, and in the context of vote.”

Other supporters of the president, such as the leader of the majority bloc, Christophe Castaner, see this incident as evidence of the will of the head of state, long accused of arrogance, or even contempt, to come out to meet the population.

In fact, last week, Emmanuel Macron began a tour of the French regions, to feel the pulse of the country after more than a year of the epidemic.

The return of the "yellow jackets"

The incident brings the French president back to the tense atmosphere that surrounded him before the spread of the "Covid-19" epidemic.

It was best illustrated by the "yellow vests" crisis, which drove millions of French people into the streets for a number of weekends, at the end of 2018, to denounce government policy.

Pictures of the head of state, especially, were burned during various rallies, and Emmanuel Macron's popularity fell to the lowest level at that time, only (20% of positive opinions in December 2018).

And the political expert, Pascal Perino, warned that this slap may be "an indication of the return of very hot anger", which was "frozen" by the Covid epidemic.

This view is shared by Xavier Bertrand, the right-wing candidate, who announced his candidacy for the 2022 presidential elections, and believes that "Macron has never appreciated the scale of the yellow vest crisis."

A study conducted by the Jean Jaures Foundation in April indicated that the extent of hatred for Emmanuel Macron is the main factor in the possibility of winning the nationalist right-wing candidate Marine Le Pen in the 2022 elections, in addition to the convergence of programs between her party (National Rally) and the conservative right represented by the Republican Party, and « Demonization of the former National Front.

In this regard, the authors of the study considered that the four feelings generated by Emmanuel Macron, and which are more prominent, are all negative: “anger,” “desperation,” “disgust,” and then “shame,” noting that emotions play an “important role” in behavior. Electoral.

populist temptation

But this blow also reflects the evolution of the political debate in France.

This reveals that "there is nothing left between the president and the angry French people", said Pascal Perino, while for decades the political debate has been organized with "collective forces".

"There were parties, unions and intermediary bodies, there is nothing left," he added, "not even ideologically."

"When there is no longer an ideology, when there are no collective forces (...) there are people and individuals we can love or hate, and there is a lot of hatred, because French society is angry," Perino explained.

Could we also see an increasing polarization of the French electorate being tempted to vote for the national right more and more?

According to a study by Fundabol, 78% of French people tend to abstain, vote with a white card, or choose a party considered populist, left or right, in the first round of presidential elections.

• The four emotions that Emmanuel Macron generates are “anger”, “desperation”, “disgust” and then “shame”.

• The slap may be an “indication of the return of the very hot anger” that was “frozen” by the Covid epidemic.

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