France Bleu Saint-Etienne Loire: On the very principle of the platform, is it the place of an intellectual to take a political position?
Pascal Bonnard, teacher-researcher at UJM Saint-Étienne: Yes, it is our place to take a position in this debate. It’s true that this is not something that we do systematically, but we believe that the context requires it because we are in an unprecedented situation, at the national level but also at the level of the Loire. This is the first time that the National Rally has come out on top in the elections and therefore we felt that we needed to speak out to express our rejection of this party, our concern about what could happen if he ever came to power.
What can sometimes be disturbing is why now? Why is there no ongoing commitment? Why do we necessarily do it urgently?
So the ongoing commitment is present, but perhaps in another way. Our role is not necessarily to speak out, to engage directly in a public debate. There, we do it because of the urgency of the situation. Our daily work is more about teaching, doing research and we believe that it is also a way of finally getting involved, but more in the long term.
Is it a forum for the Saint-Etienne elites, these famous elites who are sometimes criticized and singled out by RN voters?
We understand that it can be perceived like that. Our concern is to avoid that, to also remember that we are an integral part of Saint-Etienne society, of Saint-Etienne life. We live here, we work here. This is also the reason why we worded it that way. To avoid posing as a form of moral authority that comes as a lesson giver. This is why we indicate what we are going to do. The fact that we support the Popular Front rather than a call to vote Popular Front seemed to us to be a way of not lecturing voters who have to make a choice that we also obviously hope will be a little enlightened. through this platform.
You are a teacher-researcher at the university. How could the arrival of the RN have an impact on your work and training?
The university is a target of the extreme right. This is not a French peculiarity. We observe it very well in countries abroad, in Hungary, in the United States. When we come to power, the university is targeted, particularly perhaps the human and social sciences to which I belong. We are there to disseminate knowledge, knowledge that is partly critical, which also questions the social order. This is something that deeply displeases the extreme right. Overall, it is public services that are targeted by the extreme right to which we have a strong attachment. It is necessary to remember that the RN remains a far-right party, despite its apparent trivialization in recent years. It remains a party that is driven by racist ideas. It remains a party that is opposed to social justice, which has also systematically voted against the measures that were proposed and that aimed to correct social inequalities. And also a party that does not propose solutions to the ecological emergency, on questions of women’s rights or other social groups that may be in the minority.
They will tell you that they have proof that the university is a den of leftists.
That’s what they believe, that’s what they tell themselves. This is a profound misunderstanding of the way we work. The fact that at university, we are not there to profess an opinion. We develop critical knowledge that questions the social world. In this way we often disturb the established order, those who want it not to change. The National Rally party is above all a party of order, in the sense of what could be conceived in the pre-1789 era. It is a party that wants the return of an old and authoritarian order.
We understand that you are calling for not voting for the RN, but then you could leave the choice. There is also the Macronist center-right camp. Why this choice for the left?
It is precisely estimated that governments, since 2017, and undoubtedly before, have some responsibility for the current situation. They contributed to trivializing the far right, and also to facilitating a shift in voting towards the far right through a whole set of measures, through the contempt displayed towards parliamentary structures. We see the way in which Parliament has been bypassed on multiple occasions, the way in which mobilizations, such as those against pension reform, have been ignored. All this also contributes to a discrediting of public speech. Conversely, we believe that the new Popular Front offers solutions to these types of difficulties that we encounter today.
