Macron’s risky comparison

Emmanuel Macron voluntarily compared the spontaneous demonstrations against the pension reform to the assault on Capitol Hill during his speech at 1 p.m. on TF1 and France 2. Is this parallel, which arouses strong reactions, justified?

It is a comparison that makes people react: the one made by Emmanuel Macron between the spontaneous demonstrations against the pension reform and the assault on the Capitol in the United States in January 2021. While for almost a week the daily and unexpected gatherings of opponents of the bill adopted in force end in clashes with the authorities, sometimes with police violence, the President of the Republic seemed to throw stones at the demonstrators.

“When groups use extreme violence to attack elected officials of the Republic, when they use violence without rules because they are not happy with something, then it is no longer [le cadre de] the Republic”, judged the Head of State in front of journalists from TF1 and France 2, this Wednesday, March 22, 2023. And immediately to draw the parallel with anti-democratic movements: “When the USA lived what they lived in the Capitol, when Brazil went through what it went through, when you had extreme violence in Germany, in the Netherlands or in the past with us, we must say we respect, we listen, we try to move forward for the country, but we cannot accept either rebels or factions”.

A fair comparison?

Among Internet users, the comparison between the demonstrations against the reform and thecapitol assault do not pass. And for good reason, the contexts between the two situations have nothing in common. French demonstrators, from all political stripes, are contesting a “denial of democracy” after the government pushed through the bill thanks to 49.3, despite the overwhelming majority of French people rejecting the reform. A point eluded by a short sentence from Emmanuel Macron during his meeting with his ministers and parliamentarians on the evening of March 21: “The crowd has no legitimacy in the face of the people who express themselves sovereign through their elected officials” . Problem, the deputies, the only parliamentarians elected directly by the citizens, did not vote for the pension reform.

At the same time, the Capitol was stormed by voters and supporters of the far right in reaction to remarks by Donald Trump who had just lost his place in the White House to Joe Biden. A call to the uprising in a way. Above all, if the anger of the demonstrators opposed to the pension reform is palpable, it has been expressed for several weeks without an incident having occurred or an assault, whatever it being, having been carried out on the against institutions. The only exceptions that can be taken into account are power cuts in the offices of elected representatives of the majority.

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Between demonstrators and authorities, a monopoly of violence?

The question of violence and its perpetrators also arises in Emmanuel Macron’s speech. In addition to being clumsy – no doubt he meant to refer to the most radical groups only – the declaration of the head of state blames the violence only on the demonstrators. However, for six days, charges and interventions by the police, in particular the brigade for the repression of violent motorized actions (BRAV-M) carried out indiscriminately between thugs and pacifist demonstrators abound on social networks.

This police violence was not mentioned and the President of the Republic did not have the tact to differentiate between the demonstrators and the radical elements who interfere during the mobilizations. The distinction was only made between union mobilizations and spontaneous demonstrations: “Let there be demonstrations, peaceful, yes it’s legitimate, it’s normal. Alongside that, there are blockages and violence , they must be condemned”. Adding a word to the unions that he “respects” to reinforce the distinction with spontaneous gatherings.