With a record number of 33 electoral lists, the European elections show an optimum variety when it comes to the political landscape. While the European Union is going through an unprecedented crisis of values and a quest for meaning, we investigate the place of diversity \u2013 cultural this time \u2013 in the campaigns of the French candidates competing on 26 May. In the strictest sense, it is almost non-existent. Even down to the embodiment of projects promoted by monochrome leading candidates. But by broadening the notion of diversity to the global theme of living together, several ideas about Europe clash in a clear reaffirmation of the left-right divide as it is traditionally perceived in collective representations in terms of reception, migration, rights of asylum and freedom of movement, and global solidarity.<\/p>\n
The obsession with border protection rallies the right wing<\/b><\/p>\n
On the far-right of France\u2019s political spectrum, the Front National \u2013 renamed Rassemblement National \u2013 advocates for a redefining of Europe, in particular on the grounds of \u201cthe values of civilisation, shared roots and history drawn from Greece and Ancient Rome, then Christianity\u201d, rejecting Turkey\u2019s integration into the EU<\/span> and pushing this logic as far as \u201cstopping legal immigration\u201d. In return, the list drawn up by Jordan Bardella promises \u201can ambitious development policy with African countries,\u201d but in a way that links \u201cfinancial aid to close cooperation to control migration flows\u201d. But it may be Nicolas Dupont-Aignan \u2013 a Debout la France candidate \u2013 who responds most clearly on this subject with an outright rejection of \u201cmulticulturalism\u201d. As for Fran\u00e7ois Asselineau\u2019s Union Populaire R\u00e9publicaine <\/i>and Florian Philippot\u2019s (the Front National party\u2019s former number two) Les Patriotes, there is no salvation other than \u201cFrexit\u201d, a hypothetical French withdrawal from the European Union.<\/p>\n Among Les R\u00e9publicains, outsider Fran\u00e7ois-Xavier Bellamy places \u201cl\u2019Europe fronti\u00e8re\u201d [\u201cEurope-Border\u201d] at the forefront of his project. The fight against Islamist terrorism being his secondary concern. It is not only on the issue of migration that collusion between the so-called republican right wing and that of Le Pen is clear. They both go as far as almost copying-and-pasting a call for the inclusion of \u201cEurope\u2019s Judeo-Christian roots in European treaties\u201d. On the other hand, culture appears relatively highly in the catalogue of proposals, with the introduction of \u201c1% European culture to preserve our heritage in our lands (churches, castles\u2026)\u201d and the defence of \u201clinguistic diversity within European institutions\u201d.<\/p>\n Culture, the poor relation of Europe?<\/b><\/p>\n There is no head-on anti-foreign discourse at the IDU<\/span>, Union of Democrats and Independents - whose colours are worn by Jean-Christophe Lagarde - despite the obsessive anxiety for border protection. The \u201ccreation of a network and pass for European museums\u201d is a key claim in terms of culture. For La R\u00e9publique en Marche! and the whole of the presidential majority, it does not seem necessary to publicise the details of the Renaissance <\/i>list before 9 May\u2026 On the menu: \u201cscholarships and a series of prizes for young contemporary creativity\u201d and the development of \u201ccultural tourism\u201d. After the controversy over the inclusion of her name on a far-right list while still a student, Nathalie Loiseau, a leading candidate for Macron\u2019s party, expressed a biased \u201cno one should enter Europe if they are not invited\u201d.<\/p>\n As for the left, even if not everyone lays claim to the label, like Europe \u00c9cologie (EELV<\/span>) or <\/i>La France Insoumise (LFI<\/span>), the tone is more about solidarity, or rather cutting ties with existing discourse about identity and security. The PS<\/span>\/PRG<\/span>\/Nouvelle donne\/Place Publique coalition led by the essayist Rapha\u00ebl Glucksmann \u2013 a former disciple of liberal Alain Madelin \u2013 remains tight-lipped on the issue of culture, with a timid incentive towards \u201cintercultural dialogue\u201d. Even if a platform of elected socialists co-signed by the leading candidates states: \u201cLet us be the ones to proudly support emancipation, humanism, fraternity, solidarity and poetry in political discourse, because it is these principles that are essential when it comes to giving full meaning to the construction of Europe.\u201d Christian Benedetti \u2013 leading figure in theatre and La France Insoumise candidate \u2013 responds to this statement by specifying the stance of the list led by Manon Aubry, whose campaign stresses a \u201ccultural and educational ambition\u201d. \u201cEurope needs all its creative powers to bring a political life into existence. We must place the making of art and what is known as culture at the centre of European politics. But for that, and for everything else, we must shed the liberal straitjacket of current European treaties\u201d, writes the stage director.<\/p>\n The Mediterranean migrant tragedy rallies the left wing<\/b><\/p>\n For the G\u00e9n\u00e9ration.s party \u2013 whose list Vive l\u2019Europe libre is led by Benoit Hamon \u2013 cultural ambitions lie in a rejection of the \u201cprivatisation\u201d of the sector, which will have to be given \u201cEuropean public funding for creativity and heritage\u201d. The most innovative proposals include \u201cEuropean Houses of Culture\u201d, \u201ca European status for cultural professions\u201d and \u201cthe restitution of all works looted from former colonies to their countries of origin\u201d. The former 2017 French presidential candidate demands an \u201cend to support for the removal of people intercepted within the world\u2019s deadliest maritime areas\u201d by creating \u201can independent search and rescue agency\u201d. This humanist focus can be found in the programme put forward by the EELV<\/span> MEP<\/span> Yannick Jadot. Entitled \u201cBien vivre\u201d [Living Well], his list contains a significant chapter on cultural rights. \u201cAt a time of threats to identity, intolerance and a fear the Other, environmentalists are keen to make culture a source of social cohesion, an expression of diversity and creativity, experience of otherness, for sharing values, friendship, goals and enjoyment\u201d.<\/p>\n In Ian Brossat\u2019s programme \u2013 top of the \u201cPour une Europe des gens, pas de l\u2019argent\u201d [For a Europe of people, not money] list \u2013 one sentence clearly sums up the state of mind of the PCF<\/span> - French Communist Party: \u201cA knowledge of the culture of others is a key factor in bringing people together\u201d. It also suggests \u201ca public service that guarantees the cultural rights of citizens and artists\u201d. As a reaction to the repeated tragic events in the Mediterranean, the PCF<\/span> wants the European Union to redirect \u201cFrontex towards maritime rescues\u201d, \u201chumanitarian visas to be issued closer to vulnerable areas\u201d as well as the widening of \u201crefugee status to all those who are forced into exile\u201d, the organisation of \u201clegal and secure channels\u201d and \u201cthe right to mobility for all\u201d.<\/p>\n On the far-left, <\/i>Lutte Ouvri\u00e8re and its candidate Nathalie Arthaud, there is no mention of culture but a slogan that could not be clearer: \u201c\u00c0 bas l\u2019Europe-forteresse !\u201d [Down with Fortress Europe!]. For Arlette Laguiller\u2019s successor, \u201call major economic powers were built not only on colonial plunder but also thanks to the work of generations of migrants\u201d. A cutting analysis worthy of consideration.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" With a record number of 33 electoral lists, the European elections show an optimum variety when it comes to the political landscape. While the European Union is going through an unprecedented crisis of values and a quest for meaning, we investigate the place of diversity \u2013 cultural this time \u2013 in the campaigns of the<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":236,"featured_media":5921,"menu_order":0,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"wp_typography_post_enhancements_disabled":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-5920","focus","type-focus","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n