Far-right French MPs declare war on ‘the poison of wokeism’
They say wokeism, a disparaging term for those who fight for equality for minority groups, is infiltrating French society
A new MP association set up by the far-right aims to counter wokeism
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A group of right-wing French politicians have launched a bid to counter what they see as the creeping influence of wokeism.
Roger Chudeau, an MP from the far-right Rassemblement National (RN) party, and MEPs Philippe Olivier and Patricia Chagnon created an association to unite politicians to “fight against the woke peril”.
Chudeau and Olivier said they wanted to counter the "woke ideology that is infiltrating" everywhere in our society like a "poison".
They hope to use their positions to legislate against positions they find absurd, such as women-only meetings, transgender participation in sport and their number one target: inclusive writing in universities and official acts.
Read more: What is the French word for ‘woke’?
Read more: Why France is more resistant than many countries to wokeism
The new parliamentary association counts around 40 parliamentarians, mainly from RN, as members.
Wokeism is defined as “a disparaging term for attentiveness to claims for equality and representation, from minority groups”.
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It is viewed by figures on the right as being a left-wing push dedicated to the promotion of minorities, which is exerting a huge influence on public life, especially in the English-speaking world.
New direction
Attacking wokeism is a new direction for RN, who focused on purchasing power during Marine Le Pen’s presidential campaign in 2022.
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Wokeism issues used to be the territory of Le Pen’s rival, Éric Zemmour.
Mr Chudeau, unveiling the association, denied accusations that it was part of a bid by RN to recover its electorate.
"There is no electoral aim,” said Mr Chudeau. “The next elections are in four years. We are not at all trying to position ourselves in relation to him [Zemmour].
“We are a political force, unlike Éric Zemmour. He is a force of influence, we are a structured political force with 88 MPs."
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