French "Peripheral Youth" version of "My Hometown and Me".
On the afternoon of June 8, French time, a video burst Twitter: Macron was slapped when interacting with the public.
The National Assembly was in session, and lawmakers grabbed their phones and tweeted in solidarity with the president. Far-left leader Jean-Luc Mélang-sur-Meranthot said on Twitter that he was "on the side of the president." Far-right leader Marina Le Pen also issued a condemnation, saying that "while the democratic debate may be intense, I will never tolerate any physical violence".
But what is even more curious is who is the long-haired young man who beat him in the video?
Twitter said he was a far-right youth, with far-right parties responding that "there is no such person among our party members"; netizens noticed him shouting royalist slogans, and his friends said he was just a "medieval geek" who liked ancient French culture.
When the mainstream media criticized the slap as an "insult to democracy," the beater's fathers and fellow countrymen spoke up: "He has done a lot for his hometown, and this time he is expressing his anger at an inopportune time." ”
Macron was beaten and pulled away by security guards. Image: YouTube
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="8" > "overthrow the Macron dynasty!" </h1>
After the incident, the police took two suspects away for investigation. The man who started it was Damian, and his accomplice Arthur was responsible for filming the video. Both are 28 years old, Delong natives with no criminal record.
Coincidentally, a few hours before Macron arrived, french TV show Quotidien was conducting an interview on the spot, with Damian, Arthur and a friend appearing on camera.
Their friend said that France was currently in a "moment of decadence" and that he had something to say to Mr. President, but regretted not having the opportunity. The reporter also wanted to interview D'Amian and Arthur, but they stood silently and did not want to talk.
French media outlet Quotidien later found that Damian (first from right) and Arthur (second from right) had appeared in interviews with the show. Image: Twitter
When the crowd gathered, the two gradually squeezed to the front row, and Arthur stood behind Damian, holding his phone high and starting to shoot.
As Macron was trotting to shake hands with the people outside the guardrail, Damian was the first to extend his hand, his left hand seemed to enthusiastically drag Macron's forearm, and suddenly, he shouted "Monjoy!" Saint-Denis! （Montjoie! Saint Denis!) overthrow the Macron dynasty! Bianlun raised his right hand and slapped Macron in the face.
Four security guards immediately rushed up to control the situation. Although Macron was frightened, he continued to come back to interact with the crowd despite the obstacles.
"Monjoy! Saint-Denis! "It was the slogan of the medieval French army fighting. Far-left politician Éric Coquerel tweeted that the far-right group The French Movement also uses the slogan.
The "French Movement" rejected the French Revolution, a royalist far-right organization that supported monarchism. Damian and Arthur are therefore also suspected of having links to the far right, but no group has yet expressed responsibility.
The motives for the two men's beatings are still under investigation. But their social accounts have aroused the interest of netizens, and from the content posted, it can be seen that they are all fans of video games and Japanese manga.
Damian doesn't update much. In an Instagram introduction, he claimed to be a member of the National Federation of Ancient European Martial Arts, along with a photo of himself dressed in medieval costume and holding a sword. It is a long-established martial art that is currently only studied by 1500 people in France.
He did not follow any political figures or parties, but subscribed to some royalist and right-wing accounts, such as the right-wing student group La Cocarde étudiante on French university campuses, the populist rapper Kroc Blanc, and the far-right cartoonist Mr. Kitsuné.
Damian focuses on comics published by far-right cartoonist Mr Kitsuné. Image: Twitter
More recently, he also followed YouTube blogger Papacito, a hot far-right blogger who just posted a popular video on June 7 in which he dressed up a dummy as a far-left supporter and shot at it.
Another suspect, Arthur, who was also a martial arts enthusiast in ancient Europe, had sponsored a gaming club and a medieval fencing school along with Damian. On the 9th, the police found some weapons from his residence, as well as Hitler's "Mein Kampf".
But the duo's friends defended that Damian was only curious about the royalists and less interested in politics. As for why he shouted royalist slogans, he believes that Damian is imitating the 1993 comedy traversal film Les visiteurs, in which the knight played by Jean Renault repeatedly shouts this sentence in funny scenes, as a "good medievalist", this is just a slogan that represents chivalry.
The town hall in their hometown of Saint-Vallier also assured that the two young men, although their hobbies were relatively niche, had not had any problems playing in their own circles before.
On the 10th local time, Damian appeared in court for trial. He told investigators it was an instinctive decision and he acted "without thinking." Damian was sentenced to 18 months in prison, suspended for 14 months, and ultimately only 4 months in prison. Arthur will be tried next year for "illegal possession of weapons."
The knight played by Jean Renault in the 1993 comedy crossover film Les visiteurs often shouts "Monjoy! Saint-Denis! " slogan. Image: IMDb
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="28" > a medieval geek</h1>
After reviewing the archives, the far-right party "National Union" told french media that neither was a member of the "National Union". Local residents also believe that they do not usually show "far-right tendencies".
Damian's friends revealed to AFP that Damian had studied funeral studies but had not completed his studies and had remained in his hometown of Saint-Vallier, Delong province.
Affected by the epidemic, the windows on the central commercial street are not as full as before, and from a distance, the whole neighborhood looks like a toothless mouth. Lately Damian has lived by doing some temporary work, and he has indeed had a bit of a hard time.
Hearing that Damian slapped Macron, most residents felt that this was completely unreasonable. In their eyes, Damian is usually quiet and peaceful, has no violence, and loves medieval culture very much, like a "medieval geek".
Damian's hometown of Saint-Vallier. Image: Cartesfrance
In 2017, when Macron was still in the presidential election, he once made a controversial statement about French culture at a conference: "There is no concept of 'French culture', it should be said that in France, we have such a culture, it is pluralistic and composite." ”
At the time, the media criticized Macron as an "extreme liberal" and denied the uniqueness of French culture. But in the mouths of some opponents, they even directly erased the second half of the sentence, only to promote Macron's statement that "France has no culture."
Damian's hometown of Saint-Vallier, de'éd'Or, is a "cultured" place. There are only 4,000 inhabitants, but the town dates back to the Roman period, and the cultural heritage of the old town is well preserved, with 12th-century churches, 15th-century castles and 17th-century bell towers all giving Saint-Vallier a strong French character.
From the moment Macron said that "France has no culture", Damian was full of anger at him, thinking that he was a "president who did not listen to us", which was annoying.
This young man from the small town of Saint-Vallier is proud of his hometown and is committed to preserving the history and vitality of the town. He founded two small, non-profit groups, mainly to promote the story of the Countess of Saint-Vallier and "defend the beautiful image of France". The Countess of Saint-Vallier was a court nobleman of the 16th century, the "chief mistress" of Henry II, and one of the town's few historical figures.
One resident, who believes Damian "is an artist", is actively involved in the local historical club, dressing up as a medieval knight to set off the atmosphere for visitors to the old city area of the city center. Before the pandemic, he often took some young people to practice medieval fencing in the park.
Damian's practice of "Hema" originated in European martial arts from the Middle Ages to the Renaissance. Beginning in the 1880s, people began to revive and restore traditional European martial arts, incorporating some modern features. Photo: Le Dauphiné Libéré
The owner of a shoe store on the high street also said: "Damian, I am sure he is a good man... Otherwise he wouldn't have done all this for the city. ”
Another young man, Yannis, disagreed, and like Damian, he often volunteered to help out at a local Japanese café. In his opinion, Damian is not bad, but he always talks and does things a little "inappropriate".
"I found that he was always a bit of a dog-sermon on the issue of law-abiding," Yannis said, "but it was so funny to see him beat the president, and I wondered if he had been deceived by someone." ”
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="44" > democracy was slapped</h1>
But to people outside of these small-town youths, this is definitely not a funny thing.
In the National Assembly, Prime Minister Castell spoke excitedly about the president's beating before delivering his speech: "Democracy should be achieved through debate, dialogue and exchange, and under no circumstances should violence, verbal attacks or even physical attacks be used." I call for an awakening of republican ideas. ”
On June 8, Prime Minister Castel spoke of the president being beaten at the National Assembly. Image: AFP
Almost all the Central and Local French media have also made serious criticisms - "slapping the president is slapping France".
Many editorials argue that this is a warning of danger. The Liberty Charente newspaper pointed out: "It takes the president a slap in the face to make us aware of the value of democracy, the fragility of the republic and the importance of debate." The political climate has deteriorated to a new level, and in such a putrid air, verbal violence will soon become the norm. ”
But Macron reacted completely differently. Hours after being beaten, he was interviewed by the local newspaper, The Liberty Dofinet, and was asked: "Do you think the political climate is deteriorating?" ”
"No, these extreme people are just individuals. ...... Let's not let these people and things occupy the space of public discussion, they don't deserve it. He said.
On June 8, Macron and Brigitte interacted with the public during their visit to Delong Province. Image: AFP
This time, despite the grievances of being beaten, Macron stressed that there was a reason for the "isolated incident". With the 2022 general election looming, small-town youth have become a group that cannot be ignored.
In 2014, French geographer Christophe Guilluy proposed the concept of "periphery Of France" in his research.
On one side was the globalization and gentrification of the big cities, and on the other hand, many "native French working class" flowed to small towns and the surrounding areas of the cities, with the political elite losing contact with them and still failing to take measures to confront ideological differences and cultural divides.
Small-town youth are more dependent on traditional values, and far-right ideas focused on France, "anti-immigration, anti-EU, anti-Islam and anti-globalization" are beginning to attract more people.
The most important of these forces is the National Front, whose former leaders were once known for denying that Jews were being slaughtered, but Marina Le Pen shrugged off the overly extreme ideology of the National Front. In 2018, she renamed the Front National as Rassemblement National, not only marking a change of the times, but also symbolizing the opening of arms to all confused young people who feel "french identity is threatened."
Popular French far-right blogger on YouTube. Image: AFP
More importantly, the "National Alliance" has kept up with the trend and the psychology of the new generation. As the first party to establish an official website, they are also ahead of the curve in the era of short videos. Led by Papacito, which Damian focuses on, there are currently dozens of influential French far-right bloggers on YouTube whose videos target young people from rural or urban areas.
The videos attracted more than a million viewers, perhaps with different preferences but the same hatred – aversion to feminism, ecology and multilateralism, condemning "left-wing bobo men (groups of both bourgeois and bohemian character) who abandon tradition, forget patriotism, and lose their masculinity."
This year's Harris poll showed that Macron's approval rating among the 18-24-year-old group was 27%, while the far-right "National Alliance" support rate was only 3 percentage points behind.
While the biggest trend among voters aged 18-24 and 25-34 is abstention, the reality is that the slap has humiliated democracy and sobered the French: the younger generation no longer trusts traditional parties – for revolution, left-wing youth will choose the Greens or the ultra-left "unyielding France", and to build their hometowns, right-wing small-town youth will rush to the "National Union".
The call transfer of the public account is relayed by "Liquid Youth", and continues to pay attention to the work, life and spiritual world of contemporary young people.