Invia questo articolo per email (Ri)Costruire la nazione etnoculturale: Éric Zemmour e la rigenerazione della destra radicale populista in Francia
(Re)Constructing the ethno-cultural nation: Éric Zemmour and the rejuvenation of populist radical right politics in France
Abstract
Questo articolo riflette sulla morfologia dell’ideologia di Éric Zemmour e sul suo rapporto con il più vasto fenomeno della destra radicale populista. Basandosi su un’analisi qualitativa della campagna di Zemmour per le elezioni presidenziali del 2022, il testo mostra come la sua ideologia condivida i tipici tratti nativisti, autoritari e populisti della destra radicale populista. Il suo nativismo è fondamentalmente di orientamento etnoculturale, in quanto abbraccia l’idea difensiva ed escludente di una nazione ‘eterna’ elaborata dagli autori nazionalisti francesi all’inizio del Novecento. La sovranità nazionale va riconquistata al fine di proteggere la comunità del popolo dalle minacce culturali ed economiche esterne e di liberare la Francia dal giogo dei meccanismi e delle istituzioni internazionali. Infine, l’analisi mette in evidenza il populismo e le idee autoritarie della società di Zemmour, che ne informano le posizioni da destra reazionaria, antifemministe e sessiste, e la sua critica delle élite ‘progressiste’ e della cosiddetta ‘tirannia delle minoranze’. In generale, l’analisi conclude che le evidenti tendenze illiberali di Zemmour rappresentano una sfida importante per i valori e i principi fondamentali della democrazia liberale in Francia.
This paper reflects on the morphology of Éric Zemmour’s ideology and its relation to the broader populist radical right phenomenon. Drawing from a qualitative analysis of Zemmour’s campaign in the 2022 French presidential election, the paper shows that his ideology shares the typical nativist, authoritarian and populist features of the populist radical right. His nativism is primarily ethno-cultural in orientation, embracing the defensive and exclusionary vision of an ‘eternal’ nation developed by French nationalist writers in the early 20th century. National sovereignty must be regained in order to protect the community of the people from external cultural and economic threats, and liberate France from the yoke of international mechanisms and institutions. Finally, the analysis points to Zemmour’s populism and authoritarian views of society, which inform his reactionary right-wing anti-feminist and sexist positions, and his criticism of ‘progressive’ elites and the so-called ‘tyranny of minorities’. Overall, the analysis concludes that Zemmour’s clear illiberal leaning represents a significant challenge to the fundamental values and principles of liberal democracy in France.
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.15162/2282-5681/1680
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