This summer proved that the values ​​of inclusion can be shared massively.

I am delighted to be on France Inter again, to see you again, and then, I must say, since this summer I really feel much better, even wondering if I had not let myself be too influenced by the fear of a victory of the extreme right.

An example: during the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games, I was worried. Amazed but worried. I told myself that it was dragging out the queer parade and I even had a big doubt when I saw Philippe Katerine blue and naked… I said to myself “This is going to excite the reactionaries of the whole world, we are going to have to hug the walls all year”.

In reality, apart from a few angry words on Twitter (and who still believes that what we read there is people’s opinion?), the two Olympic Games ceremonies were applauded around the world and Philippe Katerine found himself naked on France Inter. These ceremonies made us proud by beautifully asserting the ideals of inclusion and equality. So if the whole world was enthusiastic and I had worried for nothing, hadn’t I become too “demure”.

How so ?

This new trend, parodied on the Tik Tok network, means in French to show decency, to be discreet, modest… In other words, to keep your distance, especially for those who are disturbing, whose bodies do not conform or whose ideas are too turbulent. By dint of hearing criticism about the “excesses” of feminists and Metoo, we can be tempted to be careful, to avoid the backlash, the conservative backlash.

And yet. The ultra conservatives complain about being the silent majority, but they are only a minority that is too noisy. This is what the political scientist Vincent Tiberj shows, in a book entitled “La Droitisation française, mythe et réalités” to be released on September 4 by Pufs: he demonstrates a gap between media and political discourse and the reality of tolerance in society that continues to progress before our eyes.

Internationally too: facing Donald Trump, Kamala Harris gives us hope. It took Joe Biden being absolutely prevented from opening his eyes to a reality: yes, Kamala Harris has a better chance of winning than him. A woman, black American, Indian, who places abortion in her top 3 priorities, with this watchword: the desire to bring back joy. There too, the population is more progressive than its leaders want to see.

A lesson for France?

Whether it is on the visibility of disability these days, on LGBT rights, or women’s rights, society is one step ahead of those who represent us. So do not be afraid. To all those who are fighting, this fall, do not hug the walls and be proud of your fights and your struggles. Because, as Victor Hugo said, those who live are those who fight; they are those whose soul and brow are filled with a firm purpose, those who climb the harsh peak of a high destiny, those who walk thoughtfully, in love with a sublime goal…