Mark Twain once wrote: “If you must be indiscreet, be discreet in your indiscretion.”  Alas, the French politician Laurent Wauquiez, head of the right-wing opposition party Republicans, failed to heed his advice after having been recorded making allegations of conspiracy against President Emmanuel Macron.
With no love lost between the right winger and the French centre-left President, Wauquiez told students at a business college in Lyon that Macron has “contributed substantially to setting up a demolition cell” to undermine Francois Fillon, the former Republican Prime Minister.
In a country where politicians’ personal indiscretions are as public as their policy achievements – cue Francois Hollande’s late night visits to his mistress –  Wauquiez’s comments might appear perfectly French. But they reflect a much darker trend toward conspiracy among the European far right. Far right parties across the Continent have adopted a strategy of false allegations and fear mongering in order to stoke fires of suspicion among their base of support.
Diem25 is opposed to such divisive political strategies. While we diverge with Macron on many fundamental policy matters, we value truth, evidence, and respectful discourse in our movement. In a word, we cherish civil disobedience – a political mode that is both civil and disobedient. Join us in our movement to shake Europe.
 

Jane is a member of our London DSC and blogs at www.ambitiousmamas.co.uk on feminism, politics and race. You can also follow her on Twitter.

 
Photo: BERTRAND LANGLOIS AFP
 

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