In a Le Monde column, Philippe Bernard argues that the French left risks losing working-class voters by ignoring concerns over immigration and delinquency. As the far right advances by exploiting these fears, the left focuses on budget debates and primaries. These issues rank second in French concerns, ahead of the environment this year.
France stands on the brink of a historical cliff, writes Philippe Bernard, an editorialist at Le Monde, facing a potential shift toward a regime based on xenophobia and repression as the far right takes root in public opinion. Recent events fuel these fears: the commemoration of the 2015 attacks revives memories of a decade of Islamist terrorism that scarred the nation, while the assassination of Mehdi Kessaci in Marseille highlights the state's failure to curb the mafia drift of drug traffickers and their entry into political threats.
Meanwhile, political life is mired in an endless budget debate, where the socialist left celebrates secured concessions. Yet these gains may prove minor against the stakes of the presidential election in eighteen months. French people rank purchasing power as their top concern, but delinquency and immigration follow closely, per Le Monde's « Fractures françaises » survey, surpassing the environment for the first time this year.
Bernard observes that these issues – immigration, Islam, and insecurity – drive far-right gains in developed nations from the United States to Germany, the United Kingdom, and Japan. In France, the right and parts of the business community increasingly eye Marine Le Pen and Jordan Bardella. However, the left struggles to confront this reality, sometimes denying evident facts, which hinders its ability to address the legitimate concerns of working-class voters.