Jeans, T-shirt, and high leather boots—that’s the Francis Lalanne everyone seems to know, at least on the surface. Glued to his phone before the start of the conference, the spokesperson for the Independent Ecologist Alliance appeared anxious, a rather rare demeanor for the artist. It took the first attacks on the opposition for the singer to fall back into his usual patterns. Large gestures, raised voice. He continued his monologue with conviction, addressing one by one the points of the AEI’s program, such as the carbon tax, which he considers “an attempt by the Élysée to aid the proliferation of nuclear power.” The party is adamant on this issue: “we must radically exit nuclear energy.” Later, he added: “we are for disarmament.”
“France is managed by incompetents.”
As for Francis Lalanne’s decision to run in the South-East region, it’s to “defend the rich lands suffering from the syndrome of concreting.” He attributes this problem to local elected officials who consent to the construction of luxurious properties at the expense of the natural park.
Clearly in disagreement with the UMP majority, whether in terms of ecology or economy, the head of the Independent Ecologist Alliance list did not hesitate to launch repeated attacks. “France is managed by incompetents” or “France is a Formula 1 car with a novice mechanic at its head,” Mr. Lalanne mixed subtlety with provocation throughout his speech. Besides the state, the representative of Europe Écologie, led by Daniel Cohen-Bendit, also faced criticism: he “only talks about growth, he is far from ecology. Anyway, the Greens in France have always been on the side of power,” concluded the AEI leader.
“My fame, it’s a burden.”
With a father who was part of the Resistance, a grandfather who participated in the Popular Front, and a great-grandfather in the Commune, Francis Lalanne was destined to continue the family tradition. It was his “disgust” for today’s society and his refusal to endure that pushed him to write engaged songs and to enter into the associative system. Seeing that his texts were not a sufficient means of action, he decided to get involved in politics. For the first time in June 2007, he ran as a candidate in the legislative elections in Bas-Rhin. It was a rather difficult start due to his fame, which he drags around like “a burden,” as he likes to say.
Francis Lalanne regrets that unlike the 1970s, there are no longer as many artists and intellectuals as committed as him: “young people no longer want to be artists, but famous. The world has created this ‘celebrification’.” A reality that the artist sadly accepts, he who claims: “I would give my blood for my country.” Will he succeed in convincing? Results on Sunday evening, June 7.
