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“That’s it. The suitcase is ready. Ivan said jokingly. But he was only half-smiling. The breakthrough of the far-right party National Rally (RN), which received 34% of the votes in the first round of the French legislative elections, shocked the party, which adopted the Parisian from the Grand Bay, mobilized family and friends to vote and tried to block him in the second round of voting, which will be held this Sunday. According to the latest opinion polls, the Le Penist party, which makes foreigners the scapegoat for all France’s ills and openly advocates discrimination, has never been so close to power. A total of 577 seats are at risk.
Ivan works in a four-star hotel and left his island 30 years ago in search of a better future on the French mainland. “In fact, even if the far right wins, I don’t think it will deport all foreigners, let alone naturalized people like me,” He comforted himself. “On the other hand, I am concerned that the country will develop a toxic, unstable, unpredictable and violent climate.” In recent years, the rise of RNs has been accompanied by an increase in the number of physical attacks, insults, intimidation and provocations against foreigners, especially Africans and Arab Muslims.
Even Prisca Thevenot, a minister and government spokesperson of Mauritian origin, was attacked by RN gorillas while collaging campaign posters on Wednesday. Police expected chaos on Sunday night and mobilized more than 30,000 gendarmes to avoid any damage.
Overt racism
Ivan is a grandfather who worries that his grandchildren may become victims of this unprovoked violence and intimidation at school, on the subway or elsewhere. “Now, young nationalist fundamentalists are no longer hiding and are revealing their racism in broad daylight.” If one camp wins on Sunday, he fears there will be mass rallies, counter-demonstrations and does not rule out clashes in Paris and major cities, adding: “This violence is all we talk about with family, friends and work, and it keeps us on our toes.”
Our compatriot Nathalie, mother of two young sons and resident of the French capital, is more calm. At 57, she already dreams of retirement. The Lepéniste party promised all French people who started working early that this system would be implemented at the age of 60. “So I am very happy that the RN won the legislative elections because all the last governments, left or right, have failed to live up to the expectations of the people,” The retired insurance company employee said that Mauritians are hard-working and well integrated into the French social fabric, and she does not have to worry about the harsh policies of the French National Assembly against foreigners. “I am waiting for the changes. I will retire in three years and hope that registered nurses will not attack foreigners because the country has other priorities.
Covilen Narsinghen, president of the Mauritius Global Diaspora Association, is based in London. “I have received many calls in recent days from compatriots in Paris, Marseille, Bordeaux, Lille and Strasbourg,” He pointed out. “They all expressed their shock at the electoral breakthrough of the far right in France and their fear of the consequences of July 7. We call on our members to remain vigilant, not to respond to provocations and, above all, to remain united within the community.” He said he particularly felt the concern of parents for the future of their children and grandchildren. According to him, if the far right wins the legislative elections, Mauritians (there are about 100,000 French people) and all foreigners living in the country are worried that racism will intensify and become more rampant, and violence in public squares will increase.
Important immigrants
This fear is also felt in the French media. In collaboration with trade unions and other social and cultural organizations, certain headlines call for this to be stopped. Le Monde notes that dual nationals feel particularly vulnerable. Registered nurses have repeatedly affirmed that the latter will not be authorized to hold responsible positions.
In order to take a contrary view to the BNP on immigration policy, the newspaper also used data to prove that the presence of foreign labor is essential to keep the French economy running. Immigrants occupy one in ten jobs on average, but they play an important role in the hotel and restaurant industry (60%), domestic workers (39%) and the security industry (28%). “We need to wake up” President Emmanuel Macron announced in November 2022 in Le Parisien. “Do we honestly think that restaurants, agriculture and other industries can operate without immigrants?” In 2021, there were 7 million foreigners in France, accounting for 10% of the country’s 68 million inhabitants.
The far right is winning in Europe
As France turns sharply to the far right, several European countries are already led by extreme conservatives. At the end of this Sunday’s legislative elections, the RN should become the main party. In the case of the Netherlands, they have just chosen a right-wing/far-right coalition government. The four parties present are linked by a promise: to fight immigration. In Italy, four conservative parties with the same obsession have been in power since 2022. The leader is Giorgia Meloni, the leader of the fascist party Brothers of Italy and granddaughter of Benito Mussolini.
In Finland, the far right is part of the government coalition, while in Sweden it supports the regime from outside. In Hungary, sovereigntist Victor Orban has been in power since 2010 and is often condemned for his authoritarian behavior. In Slovakia, the left has formed an alliance with nationalist parties. The rise of the far right was particularly evident during the European elections in June. In France, the RN now has 58 MEPs compared to 49 in the previous parliament, while Italy’s Brotherhood has 83 against 69. The breakthrough was particularly striking for the populists of Germany’s Alternative for Germany party, which elected 15 representatives. In terms of vote share, the openly racist party surpassed the Social Democrats led by Chancellor Olaf Scholz. Overall, the nationalist conservatives hold 160 of the 720 seats in the European Parliament.
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