The battle was fought with vigor, but the result did not live up to expectations. Being defeated by the incumbent mayor is one thing, but being overtaken by the FN candidate, more or less unknown, now that’s something else…
Saying that this setback has been metabolized would be naive. However, in politics, as in life, one must know how to turn the page and look ahead.
Other electoral competitions await, and today’s defeats can foreshadow tomorrow’s victories… provided we understand why they occurred!
One of the young leaders of the Nice PS, David Nakache (representative of Arnaud Montebourg in the Alpes-Maritimes), hosted a public meeting about the municipal election results and the necessary renewal of the Socialist Party.
Nice-Premium: What lessons do you draw from this debate?
David Nakache: Of course, militants are affected by the defeat, after a courageous and quality campaign, and ultimately, an exceptionally low score. But, contrary to what I feared, it wasn’t disheartenment that prevailed, but rather a desire to take control again, to hold one’s head high and to fight.
However, we all share the need to analyze both the defeat and the new political landscape we are facing.
We are facing massive abstention, especially among young people. Even more worrying, the cities that the National Front has won are cities where participation is very high, like in Fréjus (71.46%). This means that the National Front knows how to speak to abstainers. Moreover, it is strengthening its presence and 14 cities are now governed by the far right in France.
Nice-Premium: And locally?
David Nakache: We are witnessing a generalized populist drift in local public speech.
The threshold of what is tolerable is shifting, and statements that would have caused an uproar barely a decade ago are accepted without batting an eyelid.
Populism is Philippe Vardon submitting a list titled “Islamization, immigration basta” and declaring, in public debate and general indifference, that same-sex marriages are “unnatural unions”. It’s Jean-Marie Le Pen declaring the presence of Roma people “irritating” and Marie-Christine Arnautu defending the Niçoise preference for municipal aid benefits. It’s Christian Estrosi who, several months earlier and already campaigning, stigmatized Roma and Islam, flattered the Pied-Noir community, and exploited a dramatic incident for political purposes.
The rightward shift of society is coupled here with a very peculiar identity populism and clientelism weighing on the city like a leaden blanket.
Nice-Premium: And in response, what do you suggest?
David Nakache: We must fight the cultural battle. This is what several political scientists tell us, and we need to listen to them. The left has an unfortunate tendency to offer good, truly effective solutions, but without being able to explain or convince because they are often technical and complex.
The right, for its part, uses and abuses symbols, images, and representations. The cultural battle does not mean abandoning concrete and technical solutions to various problems, but rather giving them meaning within a global vision in which citizens can project themselves and fit. It’s about proposing another vision of the world and human relations, the urban and economic development of a city, about defining our values, returning to our fundamentals, and repoliticizing our discourse.
The Nice far-right and extreme right defend the dominant classes while managing to get elected by the working classes. We must continue and amplify a long work of popular education to fight this phenomenon.
Moreover, re-evaluating our militant practices seems essential to me. Opening up our party to civil society through participatory actions is one of the levers of renewal. Building new ties with the intellectual world is another. We have different avenues to explore. The questioning of political practices cannot happen in a day, but the will is there and the renewal process is underway.
