Deputy François Ruffin, former member of La France insoumise, proposes creating a 'left-wing Puy du Fou' to address national depression. At the International Performing Arts Biennale in Nantes, he lamented the lack of political discourse on culture and drew inspiration from the Olympics opening ceremony.
François Ruffin, a deputy from the Somme and former LFI member, voiced his support for PS mayor Johanna Rolland ahead of the 2026 municipal elections during the International Performing Arts Biennale in Nantes. He stated that «our country is in depression» and criticized the lack of a «political discourse on culture». To exemplify his vision for a «left-wing Puy du Fou», he referenced the Olympics opening ceremony directed by Thomas Jolly, which highlighted diversity and the LGBT population, fostering a «moment of pride» and «reconstruction of the national community». Yet, this lasted only one summer, he noted.
Ruffin laments that many left-leaning French families visit the Puy du Fou in Vendée, where the conservative «national narrative» shapes young minds. He demands: «I want us to have our narrative that deals with slavery, that treats our dark pages and our pages of light». Though he calls his idea a «formula», he rejects «fatalism» and views culture as a way to «put air back in and restore imagination».
Drawing from Franklin Roosevelt during the 1929 Great Depression, Ruffin recalls how the U.S. president deployed actors, filmmakers, and musicians to create murals and revive the nation's spirit. «We won't revive the United States just through a policy of major works and hydroelectric dams. We will also revive the United States through their soul», he quotes. For France, he assesses: «The soul of France today is unwell. People today, when they speak, they don't just hurt for their paycheck; they hurt for France.» On social media, he concluded: «Our country is in depression. We won't revive it just through paychecks, major works, but especially through a common horizon.»
