the rise of the National Rally worries minorities

In Bordeaux, the possible victory of the National Rally in the legislative elections on June 30 and July 7 worries socio-cultural associations, as well as certain residents who fear a decline in their rights.

“We are simply worried about our safety.” Since June 9 and the victory of the National Rally in the European elections, having precipitated the dissolution of the National Assembly by Emmanuel Macron, the political climate has become tense in France. The RN could win the legislative elections on June 30 and July 7, which crystallizes certain concerns, in the Bordeaux metropolis as elsewhere.

This situation concerns, among others, the members of the Girofard association, an LGBTI+ center in Bordeaux, like Tristan: “We are worried about our safety. Just last week [dans la nuit du 9 au 10 juin, NDLR], there was a homophobic attack in Paris, where people said they were going to be able to beat the faggot in three weeks.” In three weeks, that is, if the RN came to power.

The RN vote is not directed against us directly, but we will be the first to be harmed. People are not aware that the RN program is deeply homophobic.

Tristan

Member of the Girofard LGBTQI+ association

Historically, members of the National Rally have, for example, opposed marriage between people of the same sex. In April 2023, the party of Jordan Bardella and Marine Le Pen also launched a parliamentary association against the “poison of wokism”, to fight in particular against “LGBT propaganda” at school or “the transgender threat” in women’s sport.

Socio-cultural associations, like Girofard, also fear that the payment of their subsidies will stop if the RN wins the elections. “We see the distress of people every day, we is especially worried for them, for all those we support at the association. We have between 400 and 500 people who come regularly throughout the year.”explains Tristan.

On the side of Family Planning, the prospect of the National Rally in power symbolizes a risk of “regression of the rights of women and minorities”. “Apparently, the RN has smoothed out its speech, but when we look at the facts, itLike their last votes in the European Parliament, the far-right voted against the inclusion of abortion in the charter of fundamental European rights, against the implementation of a plan against violence against women…”lists Marie Gaudart, administrator at Family Planning in Gironde.

Each time, the National Rally stands against feminist struggles, against measures that could be put in place for women’s health, gender minorities, and so on.

Marie Gaudart

Administrator at Family Planning in Gironde

However, the members of these associations also understand that some people direct their votes towards the extreme right after a “Fed up”. “It’s an understandable speech: yes, there are reasons for being fed up. But the RN is not the solution, asserts Tristan, member of Girofard. The RN does not propose a way of living together, but only laws that exclude.”

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In Aubiers, a popular district in the north of Bordeaux, we also talk about this “Fed up” of the population regarding the succession of governments incapable of responding to the concerns of the French, particularly in terms of purchasing power. “The National Rally speaks to poor people, but they don’t look for real leaders, they attack foreigners. Some vote for them because they believe them, others vote in reaction” to successive governments, says Rasit Salman, member of the Aubiers citizen council.

This resident of the neighborhood for 30 years, of Kurdish origin and naturalized French, also says he “worried”seeing the National Rally as “a sword of Damocles that has reigned over our heads for years”. “Their challenge is always to shoot foreigners. The people who vote for them are not aware that this harms others”deplores Rasit Salman.

In this district, where a large part of the inhabitants have an immigrant background, the RN placed second in the European elections, with 23.16% and 23.08% of the votes collected in the two polling stations, behind the rebellious list of Manon Aubry (42.65% and 37.54%). “There is more and more incivility, it encourages voting for the extreme right”sighs Rasit Salman.

Youssef, a Moroccan who has lived in Aubiers for six months, cannot vote, but seems to understand why some people are tempted to vote for the National Rally, which promises, among other things, more security. “Here, it’s shit, there are often fights, a lot of drug trafficking… I’m not racist, I’m Arab myself, but I see clearly that here, it’s the Arabs who provoke the fights, not the French”, he believes.

Among the people met in Aubiers or Ginko, the adjoining eco-district, no one claims to vote for the extreme right. Agnès, a trader, protests against the rise of the National Rally, and regrets “the stigmatization of foreigners”. Léo Perny, another trader, recounts his concern about “facho speech is much freer today”.

I’ve already had clients tell me that foreigners should be kicked out. It shocks me, and especially since the people they talk about are often French people of foreign origin, not foreigners.

Léo Perny

Trader in the Ginko eco-district

Romain Debonnière, who runs another local business in the neighborhood, tries to explain the rise of the National Rally by “the lack of explanations, of communication with the population, who then chooses the most simplistic solution”.
“I talk a lot with customers, and I hear the same thing everywhere: there is not really a feeling of insecurity, but of incivility, supports the trader. There is stigma and confusion, which means that even immigrant populations can have radical views today. That worries me a lot, because amalgam fillings are never good.”

Between amalgams, concern and fed up, the National Rally fuels the debates on a daily basis, around ten days before the first round of the legislative elections. According to the latest Ifop poll for LCI, unveiled this Monday, June 17, Jordan Bardella’s party would be in the lead with 33% of the votes, followed by the union of the left with the New Popular Front (28%).