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Irish Times
2 days ago
- General
- Irish Times
Rise of backward-looking nationalism is not the preserve of the populist right. Just ask Sinn Féin
Sinn Féin 's objections to Ireland's participation in a year of commemorations for the Normans in 2027 shows up that party's continuing inability to respect the complexity of our history. Such a narrow-minded approach to the past raises serious questions about how the party would operate in the present if it ever got its hands on the levers of power. The rise of backward-looking nationalism in so many countries across the globe is usually presented as a right-wing phenomenon, but in Ireland the bigoted nationalist space is filled by Sinn Féin. This is evident from the flaunting of Tricolours as if the flag belongs to the party and not the country, and to the continued harping on the perceived wrongs of the past. It is all so reminiscent of the way ultranationalists in other countries, such as the followers of Nigel Farage in the UK or Marine Le Pen in France, behave. And then there's the bellicose flag-waving supporters of Donald Trump and his Make America Great Again movement. The Sinn Féin objections to the planned commemoration of the Normans might be regarded as inconsequential, but they do reveal a more sinister objective: to keep control of how the past is regarded within a narrow frame of reference to justify the party's own past. READ MORE George Orwell famously wrote that those who control the past control the present. That is fundamentally what underpins Sinn Féin's desire to frame the way Irish people regard the entire sweep of our history as 800 years of British oppression, summed up by historian Liam Kennedy as 'Mope' (most oppressed people ever). [ A Brave New Ireland: How dystopias can reflect the state of Ireland and the West Opens in new window ] It is worth noting that while the Irish history taught in our schools for the past 50 years or so is actually wide-ranging and nuanced, the generally accepted popular version is still the old simplistic one of bad Brits versus pure Gaels. That is why it is so encouraging that the Minister for Heritage, James Browne , brought the proposal to Cabinet this week to engage with the Year of the Normans initiative, promoted by the Normandy region in France, and involving other places such as Britain and Sicily, which were part of the Norman world. Browne pointed out that Ireland's lands, laws, monuments and built environment are testaments to the country's Norman heritage, and participation in the initiative would recognise that history, while boosting tourism . 'The year of the Normans is being led by our neighbours in Normandy, France, and it is an important and essential collaboration and commemoration – any distortion of this work is really disappointing and careless,' said Browne Coming from Wexford , where the Normans first landed in 1169, and where the landscape is dotted with Norman castles and abbeys, Browne is obviously aware of the complex heritage they gave to this country. The fact of the matter is that a sizeable proportion of the population is descended from the Normans, and the followers who came with them to Ireland, all those years ago. The prevalence of Norman names such as Burke, Butler, Griffith, FitzGerald, Lynch, Walsh and many more all across the country speaks volumes about the impact they have had over the past 800 years and more. Such was the scale of the influx that in south Wexford the population spoke an old version of English, similar to that written by Chaucer, right up to the end of the 19th century. In his groundbreaking book The Year of Liberty, about the 1798 Rebellion, Thomas Pakenham recounts an incident that illustrates the complexity of our history. At one stage in the conflict, a group of rebels were surrounded and cut down by the forces of the crown. Pakenham discovered that the rebels involved spoke only their ancient English dialect, while the crown forces who massacred them were part of the North Cork Militia – Irish speakers who couldn't understand that the Wexfordmen were trying to surrender. By 1798 most of the Normans, or Old English as they were known for centuries, had been reclassified as Irish papists following the Reformation and they had become largely indistinguishable from the rest of the Catholic population. They are no more or less Irish than anybody else living in this country. The importance of the initiative being promoted by Browne is that it should make people think before lapsing into the 800 years of oppression narrative promoted by Sinn Féin. In fact, most Irish people know that narrative is a bit of a joke, and it doesn't really inform their attitude to Britain or the British. One small but telling indication of the real feeling that Irish people have for our neighbours was provided by last weekend's Financial Times, which carried a little table about which countries have voted most, and least, for the UK entry in the Eurovision Song Contest . It revealed that the UK's biggest fan since Eurovision began in 1957 has been Ireland, which gave it significantly more votes than any other country. [ Finn McRedmond: Ingredients for happier marriage between the United Kingdom and Ireland are there Opens in new window ] It may be a trivial detail but it does reveal a deeper truth about the relations between the people of these islands than the 'Mope' narrative promoted by Sinn Féin.
RNZ News
2 days ago
- Business
- RNZ News
French politicians in New Caledonia this week
Leader of Rassemblement National (RN), Marine Le Pen in New Caledonia. Photo: Marine Le Pen Facebook French national politicians have been in New Caledonia as the territory's future remains undecided. This week, leaders from both right-wing Les Républicains (LR) and Rassemblement National (RN), vice-president François-Xavier Bellamy and Marine Le Pen respectively, are in the French Pacific territory. They expressed their respective views with regards to New Caledonia's political, economic and social situation, one year after insurrectional riots broke out in May 2024. Since then, latest attempts to hold political talks between all stakeholders and France have been met with fluctuating responses, but the latest round of discussions, earlier this month, ended in a stalemate . This was because hard-line pro-France parties considered the project of a "sovereignty with France", brought forward by French minister for Overseas Manuel Valls, was not acceptable, because three self-determination referendums have been held in 2018, 2020 and 2021 and all of the three consultations resulted in a rejection of independence. The last referendum, in December 2021, was however largely boycotted by the pro-independence movement and its followers due to cultural concerns around covid-19. The pro-France camp is accusing Valls of siding with the pro-independence FLNKS bloc and other more moderate parties such as PALIKA (Kanak Liberation Party) and UPM (Union Progressiste en Mélanésie), who want independence from France, albeit at varying degrees. Valls is considering transferring key French powers to New Caledonia, introducing a double French/New Caledonian citizenship and an international standing. The pro-France camp is adamant that this ignores the three no votes. Speaking to a crowd of several hundred supporters in Nouméa on Tuesday evening, Bellamy said he now favoured going ahead with modifying conditions of eligibility for voters at local provincial elections. The same attempts to change the locked local electoral roll - which is restricted to people residing in New Caledonia from before November 1998 - was widely perceived as the main cause for the May 2024 riots, which left 14 dead. Bellamy said giving in to violence that erupted last year was out of the question, because it was "an attempt to topple a democratic process". Les Républicains, to which the Rassemblement-LR local party is affiliated, is one of the major parties in the French Parliament. Its newly-elected president Bruno Retailleau is the Minister for Home Affairs in French President Emmanuel Macron's coalition government. Bellamy told a crowd of supporters in Nouméa that in his view, the decolonisation process prescribed by the 1998 Nouméa Accord "is now over". "New Caledonians have democratically decided, three times, that they belong to France. And this should be respected," he told a crowd during a political rally. In Nouméa, Bellamy said if the three referendum results were ignored as part of a future political agreement, then LR could go as far as pulling out of the French government. Marine Le Pen, this week, also expressed her views on New Caledonia's situation, saying instead of focusing on New Caledonia's institutional future, the priority should be placed on its economy, which is still reeling from the devastation caused during the 2024 riots. The efforts included diversifying the economy. A Paris court convicted Le Pen and two dozen (RN) party members of embezzling EU funds last month, and imposed a sentence that will prevent her from standing in France's 2027 presidential election unless she can get the ruling overturned within 18 months. The high-profile visits to New Caledonia from mainland French leaders come within two years of France's scheduled presidential elections. And it looks like New Caledonia could become a significant issue in the pre-poll debates and campaign. LFI (La France Insoumise), a major party in the French Parliament, and its caucus leader Mathilde Panot also visited New Caledonia from 9-17 May, this time mainly focusing on supporting the pro-independence camp's views. On Tuesday 27 May, the French President's office issued a brief statement indicating that it had decided to convene "all stakeholders" to fresh talks in Paris some time in mid-June. The talks would aim at "clarifying" New Caledonia's economic, political and institutional situation with a view to "reach a shared agreement". Depending on New Caledonia's often opposing political camps, Macron's announcement is perceived either as a dismissal of Valls' approach or a mere continuation of the overseas minister's efforts, but at a higher level. New Caledonia's pro-France parties, on their side, are adamant that Macron's proposal is entirely new and that it signifies Valls' approach has been disavowed at the highest level. Minister for Overseas France Manuel Valls, former congress president Roch Wamytan, RDO president and founder Aloisio Sako. Photo: Delphine Mayeur / Hans Lucas / AFP Valls himself wrote to New Caledonia's political stakeholders last weekend, insisting on the need to pursue talks through a so-called "follow-up committee". It is not clear whether the "follow-up committee" format is what Macron has in mind. But at the weekend, Valls made statements on several French national media outlets, stressing that he was still the one in charge of New Caledonia's case. "The one who is taking care of New Caledonia's case, at the request of French Prime Minister François Bayrou, that's me and no one else," Valls told French National news channel LCI on 25 May. "I'm not being disavowed by anyone." Most parties have since reacted swiftly to Macron's call, saying they were ready to take part in further discussions. Rassemblement-LR leader Virginie Ruffenach said this was "necessary to clarify the French state's position". She said the clarification was needed, since Valls, during his last visit, "offered an independence solution that goes way beyond what the pro-independence camp was even asking". Local pro-France figure and New Caledonia's elected MP at the French National Assembly, Nicolas Metzdorf, met Macron in Paris on Friday last week. He said at the time that an "initiative" from the French president was to be expected. Pro-independence bloc FLNKS, on its part, said Valls' proposal, nothing lower, was now "the foundation stone". Spokesman Dominique Fochi said the invitation is however scheduled to be discussed at a special FLNKS convention at the weekend. A woman in Paris carries a placard with the text '170 years of French colonisation is enough. Independence for New Caledonia and support for the Kanak people'. Photo: AFP / Eric Broncard/Hans Lucas Because of the signals it sends, New Caledonia's proposed political future plans are also causing concern in other French overseas territories, including their elected MPs in Paris. In the French Senate on Wednesday (28 May), French Polynesia's MP Lana Tetuanui, who is pro-France, asked during question time for French foreign affairs minister Jean-Noël Barrot to explain what France was doing in the Pacific region, in the face of growing influence from such major powers as China. She told the minister she still had doubts, "unless of course France is considering sinking its own aircraft carrier ships named New Caledonia, French Polynesia and Wallis-and-Futuna". French president Emmanuel Macron is this week on a south-east Asian tour that takes him to Vietnam, Indonesia and Singapore, where he will be the keynote speaker of the annual Shangri-La Dialogue. He delivers his speech on Friday local time to mark the opening of the 22nd edition of the Dialogue, Asia's premier defence summit. The event brings together defence ministers, military leaders and senior defence officials, as well as business leaders and security experts, from across the Asia-Pacific, Europe, North America and beyond to discuss critical security and geopolitical challenges. More specifically on the Pacific region, Macron also said one of France's future challenges included speeding up efforts to "build a new strategy in New Caledonia and French Polynesia". As part of Macron's Indo-Pacific doctrine, developed since 2017, France has earlier this year deployed significant forces in the region, including its naval and air strike group and its only aircraft carrier, the Charles de Gaulle . The multinational exercise, codenamed "Clémenceau 25", involved joint exercises with allied forces from Australia, Japan and the United States.
Times
2 days ago
- Business
- Times
French Ulez to be scrapped in victory for hard-right
Low-emission zones in Paris and other cities are to be scrapped after a parliamentary vote responding to a popular backlash against environmental restrictions in France. Marine Le Pen, leader of the hard-right National Rally, and the radical left France Unbowed both claimed victory after joining forces, along with conservatives, to abolish a six-year-old law that has barred higher polluting vehicles from city centres. The victory, by 98 votes to 51, came hours after a defeat for environmental campaigners as a court decided to allow work to restart on the highly contested A69 motorway in southwestern France. In February a court ordered a halt to construction after two years of environmental protests and objections from farmers and rural residents in the path of the 38-mile motorway between Toulouse and Castres. Backed by 80 per cent of the public, according to polls, the opponents of the urban 'Zones à faibles émissions' — equivalent to Britain's Ulez — argued that they discriminate against poorer car owners. The zones, which require all vehicles to display windscreen stickers with their emission class, ban diesel cars built before 2006 and more modern vehicles in periods of high air pollution. Fines of €68 are imposed on drivers in zones prohibited to their vehicles, although they are often not enforced. 'This is a defeat for the punitive environmental campaigners, the ones who are constantly hammering the French people to no effect,' Le Pen said. France Unbowed saluted 'a triumph against an unjust regulation'. • Marine Le Pen: I am the Martin Luther King Jr of France The conservative Republicans, who are part of the coalition government, defended their opposition to the zones. 'Everyone is in favour of improving air quality. But we think that it can't be done at the price of social exclusion,' Ian Boucard, a party MP, told parliament. The vote was a blow to President Macron's wing in the conservative-centrist government, which campaigned to keep the law that he introduced in 2019 to curb fine particles and other pollutants in Paris, Marseilles, Lyons and a dozen other cities. Agnès Pannier-Runacher, the environment minister, deplored the vote and the rejection of a compromise she backed to maintain the zones in Paris and Marseilles. 'Air pollution causes 40,000 premature deaths a year and the low-pollution zones helped reduce these,' she said. Motoring organisations, meanwhile, cheered the government's defeat of a system that opponents argue creates a social divide, limiting access to urban centres for low-income drivers. Scrapping the scheme means the government will have to reimburse part of the €3.3 billion in EU funds that have been spent on it this year. Macron's centrist bloc and the centre-left Socialist parties joined environmental groups in deploring what they see as part of a populist-led rejection of progress towards combating climate change. Farmers blocked highways and rallied outside parliament this week, demanding that restrictions on pesticides and water use be eased. A bill to do this was eventually defeated on Wednesday. • Air pollution linked to acute mental illness The government welcomed the court ruling on the A69 motorway, whose sites were the scene of violent protests for two years until February. Police arrested hundreds, including protesters dragged out of trees that were due to be felled. That month a court accepted opponents' arguments that the motorway should be stopped pending a full trial on their claim that it would inflict unjustified destruction of nature and disrupt the lives of residents in towns and villages in its path. Philippe Tabarot, the transport minister, called the latest ruling 'a real relief' because the court had accepted that there was a strong economic and social argument in favour of the motorway, he said. The Toulouse Administrative Court of Appeal issued a stay on the February halt and allowed work to resume on the €450 million project pending a full appeal trial within the next 12 months. Atosca, the firm building the toll motorway, is to restart its earth-moving and construction in June and intends to complete the already half-built road next year. Environmental campaigners said they were stunned by the court reversal and called for protests to resume. Julie Rover, a lawyer for opponents of the A69, said it made no sense to complete the motorway now, laying down miles of asphalt across the countryside. 'There's a risk now that in eight or ten months the court will confirm its cancellation,' she said.
Spectator
4 days ago
- Politics
- Spectator
Marine Le Pen has got to go
It's time for Marine Le Pen to quit and spend more time with her Bengal cats. More importantly, it's time for the third of French voters who support her to face the reality that her programme is incoherent and unachievable. Her election to the presidency in 2027 would be a disaster for France and a missed opportunity to repair what ails the French republic. This may be a counterintuitive argument at a time when all opinion polls show that Marine Le Pen is the most favoured candidate for the French presidency in 2027. It's true that after three failed attempts at the Elysée and 40 years in political life, she's the most recognisable name on the playing field. A recent Harris Interactive Poll showed that in the first round of the 2027 election Marine Le Pen (RN) would win and get through to the second round, with 31 per cent of the votes, versus the candidacy of Macron's former prime minister, the centrist Édouard Philippe on 21 per cent.
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First Post
7 days ago
- Politics
- First Post
Yellow Hat revolt in France: Farmers up in arms, headache for Macron as support for Le Pen swells
The Yellow Hat movement that has taken over rural France has become a major headache for French President Emmanuel Macron, but a key to the parliament for National Rally's Marine Le Pen read more A yellow wave is taking over rural France with farmers in the country expressing discontent with the French President Emmanuel Macron and his government. This month, hundreds gather to celebrate a landmark victory for their movement, led by Coordination Rurale Union. The group that staged demonstrations across the country is known for its signature yellow hats and had made unprecedented gains in February's farming union elections. With the win, the union broke the hegemony of the establishment FNSEA in representing farmers in France and Brussels. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD According to Politico, the Coordination Rurale Union was at the forefront of recent farmers' protests in France, outflanking the FNSEA with hard-hitting action, ranging from confrontations with President Emmanuel Macron to setting manure on fire in front of government buildings. However, the aggressive tactics of the group also acquired criticism for what rivals said are intimidation tactics. How it started and its connection with the National Rally Party According to the reportage by Politco, the movement was born 40 kilometers from Auch, in the heart of Gasscony, near the Spanish border. Serge Bousquet-Cassagne one of the key figures of the group has around 17 court appearances for actions ranging from vandalizing supermarkets to illegally constructing water basins used for irrigation. 'In this country, if you don't burn cars you don't get acknowledged,' he said during a conversation with Politico. Interestingly, Bousquet-Cassagne is closely associated with the French political far right, having called National Rally President Jordan Bardella 'their last hope.' The close association has also sparked speculations that the movement is being fueled by the right-wing party led by Marine Le Pen. Not only this, the overall farmers' protests have also led to a large chunks of the French countryside swinging far right. How Le Pen's party support is swelling After winning popularity in the industrial area of France, rural heartlands can prove to be a strong reservoir for the National Rally. The party has been trying to gain support in the region by blaming mainstream parties for failed farming policies and accusing Brussels of exposing EU markets to cheaper and inferior foreign produce. According to the Reconquête Poll, 62 per cent of Yellow hat farmers are hard-core supporters of nationalist parties. The survey was conducted ahead of last June's European election by research institutes Cevipof and INP Ensat. Overall support for both the Yellow Hats union and Marine Le Pen's party has surged in many parts of rural France, including in Gers, the administrative district to which Auch belongs. In last June's snap elections, the National Rally got 35 per cent of the vote from this region. Interestingly, that was up 15 percentage points from two years ago in a region that used to be a stronghold of the Social Democrats. Hence, in the year, the movement has become a strong asset to Le Pen and a headache to Macron. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD
