This op-ed was published in the French daily Ouest-France on 22 June 2024.
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French legislative elections: a letter to our friends in France
The sequence opened with the dissolution of the French National Assembly and the calling of early legislative elections, at a time when the far right is reaching new heights. This is, in many respects, dizzying. As friends and admirers of France, we feel it necessary to share our grave concerns. Our position as outside observers, coupled with, for some of us, our own tormented and sometimes even tragic national history, provides us with a unique perspective.
We want to clearly state that a victory for the nationalist political party “Rassemblement National” would not merely represent another country falling into the hands of European nationalist movements. With the prospect of a pro-Kremlin party, openly hostile to a Europe founded on human rights, coming to power in France, the fate of Europe itself is at stake.
It cannot be stressed enough that the choice facing French voters comes against the backdrop of the most serious armed conflict on the continent since World War II. This war poses an existential threat to Europe. Beyond the radical denial of Ukrainian identity, Vladimir Putin aims to torpedo the project of a Europe founded on the values of democracy, pluralism, and openness.
Let’s make no mistake: a victory for the “Rassemblement National” would make such a prospect dangerously tangible, regardless of how hard its leaders try to appear respectable. In this respect, we believe that a proper assessment of the election’s consequences requires us to beware of a possible twofold error of perspective.
threat to common European institutions
The first error would be to downplay the stakes of the result by arguing that, for years now, governments in France and elsewhere in Europe have been influenced by far-right ideas on migration, criminal law, and security issues, thereby assuming that the policies of the “Rassemblement National” would merely accentuate already entrenched trends.
If France were to fall under the banner of nationalist movements working towards a radical rewriting of the European project, these movements would be galvanised, possibly to the point of neutralising the safeguarding role of our common institutions.
The starting point of this consideration is undoubtedly well-founded, but it remains true that the French national authorities operate within a defined institutional framework, where the primacy of the human person and the rule of law prevail. And yet, if France were to fall under the banner of nationalist movements working towards a radical rewriting of the European project, these movements would be galvanised, possibly to the point of neutralising the safeguarding role of our common institutions.
By taking over the EU’s second-largest country in terms of population and a founding member, these movements could achieve sufficient critical mass to reach a political tipping point. The experience of nationalist parties in Europe gaining power through elections show that they are particularly skilled at subverting the workings of democracy and becoming entrenched at all levels of the state apparatus.
A context of international crises
The second mistake would be to assume that France’s diminished external influence would limit the potential impact of future election results. While this observation holds merit, it should not overshadow France’s privileged position as a permanent member of the UN Security Council, its role within the EU, and its hosting of the Council of Europe, where crucial democratic standards and fundamental rights are shaped. Nor should we underestimate the significance of its political, cultural, and legal heritage.
The convergence of major crises in Ukraine, the Middle East, and Taiwan is testing UN institutions against seismic forces. France’s withdrawal in this context would significantly weaken the camp advocating for international law, all of which compounds unpredictable effects.
Above all, any decline in influence must be viewed within the context of global legal order being questioned and the rise of states vehemently opposed to any form of global regulation. With US elections in November, global affairs are poised to take a chaotic turn. Meanwhile, the convergence of major crises in Ukraine, the Middle East, and Taiwan is testing UN institutions against seismic forces. France’s withdrawal in this context would significantly weaken the camp advocating for international law, all of which compounds unpredictable effects.
It is therefore with both affection and gravity that we address you, our French friends, urging you to bear in mind that the choices you have to make are part of a decisive moment in our shared history, and commit us collectively. With the conviction that, in the end, the Land of the Enlightenment will fully exercise its special role in Europe and the world.
signatories
Marc Nève (Belgium), President of the European Prison Litigation Network (EPLN); Aleksandra Iwanowska (Poland), Board member of the Helsinki Foundation for Human RIghts (HFHR); Alexander Cherkasov (Russia), member of the Council of the Memorial Human Rights Center (Nobel Peace Price 2022); Zsófia Moldova (Hungary), lawyer, human rights defender, civil society manager; Alexis Deswaef (Belgium), Vice President of the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH); Julie Ward (United Kingdom) & André Gerrits (Netherlands), Co-Presidents of the Civil Society Forum; Sofia Ciuffoletti (Italy), Director of L’Altro diritto-ODV; Nicoleta Hriplivii (Moldova), Legal director of Promo-Lex Association; Olexandr Pavlichenko (Ukraine), Director of the Ukrainian Helsinki Union for Human Rights; Yevhen Zakharov (Ukraine), Director of the Kharkhiv Human Rights Protection Group (KHPG); Pierre Sculier (Belgium), President of Avocats.be – Ordre des barreaux francophones et germanophone de Belgique; Daniil Beilinson (Russia), co-founder of the independent human rights media projectt OVD-Info; Pavel Chikov (Russia), Director of the Agora International Human Rights Group; Patrick Henri (Belgium), President of Avocats sans frontières (ASF).
