The president of the National Rally, Jordan Bardella, will not be entitled to posters promoting his book What I’m looking for in French stations. This was the decision of the company managing the SNCF advertising panels on the grounds that this contravenes “ its principles of neutrality. »
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The RN elected officials are convinced: their leader is the victim of a cabal. “ The SNCF bowed to the diktat of far-left unions […] we hope she reconsiders her decision » snaps Philippe Ballard, deputy for Oise.
Certainly, certain central groups, such as the CGT-Cheminots, were strongly opposed to the diffusion of the campaign in Parisian stations and metros. But MédiaTransports, the agency in charge of advertising on the SNCF networks, assures RFI that it has only enforced its principle of “ neutrality », independent of any pressure.
An advertising campaign assimilated to political propaganda
In mid-October, a campaign request with 500 posters (quite large therefore) was submitted. However, MediaTransports had not seen the visuals. The face of Jordan Bardella in large with the title of his book, What I’m looking forare elements considered to be political propaganda.
The decision pleases the fiercest opponents of the National Rally. The Insoumis MP and former railway worker Thomas Portes believes that“ the extreme right will never have a place in train stations. We know the commitment of railway workers against the far-right. They engaged in the resistance while the founders of the National Front collaborated with Vichy. It is very good news that this campaign has been canceled “.
A refusal which is not a first
This is not the first time that a campaign has been refused on French train networks. In 2020 in particular, the NGO Greenpeace suffered the same fate for posters mocking the French president’s speeches on alleged environmental ambitions.
With or without the stations, the promotion of Jordan Bardella’s book will in any case be intense from the beginning of November. In particular in the media of the Bolloré group (CNews, Europe 1, JDNews) also owner of Fayard, the publisher of the boss of the RN.
Also readFrance: at a meeting in Nice, the National Rally launches a “permanent campaign”