Numerous articles and well-documented studies warn of the rise of the far right in France. The discussion below will attempt to identify its fertile ground (one is tempted to call it its manure!), what could be termed a "fascism of the atmosphere," in the sense that this "rise" is not solely the result of far-right propaganda (Bolloré, National Rally), but stems from an existential-historical crisis: the absence of prospects for societal self-transformation, which leads to adherence to the "values" of the ruling class.
The Banalization of Cruelty
A news item does not automatically carry historical significance. However, the "live-streamed death" of the streamer Jean Pormanove on August 18th did not go unnoticed. The premise of this spectacle, which ultimately spiraled out of control (the victim reportedly died not from blows but from his poor health!), was that this streamer derived his income from scenes of abuse (to say the least) perpetrated by his "accomplices" against him in front of cameras, through their instant, paid broadcast to subscribers ("It was for work," according to a close acquaintance, interviewed by "Libération" on August 23, 2025). There was an audience of nearly 500,000 subscribers eager to feast on violence and domination, which the perpetrators claimed during the investigation was all scripted. The entire affair took place in a deprived neighborhood in the Nice metropolitan area.
But this kind of behavior isn't limited to the "bottom" of society. In this vein, the highest echelons also stage themselves, as reported by Naomi Klein-whose book "The Shock Doctrine" we appreciated at the time-along with Astra Taylor, whose analysis "The Rise of End Times Fascism," published in The Guardian on April 13, 2025, was translated into French on the website "Terrestres" ("La montée du fascisme de la fin des temps"). There, we learn of "the numerous sadistic-chic photo shoots of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, who poses alternately on a horse at the US-Mexico border, in front of a crowded prison cell in El Salvador, or brandishing a machine gun during the arrest of immigrants in Arizona."
When the French head of state so readily disparages those at the bottom of the social ladder, let us recall: "In a train station, you meet people who are nothing," after having so lauded "those at the top of the ladder," he echoes the CEO of France Telecom who, to better ensure the privatization of "Orange," planned a massive round of job cuts, instructing his superiors "to leave by the door or the window," undoubtedly unable to foresee that employees suffering from burnout would ultimately jump out of windows. The most worrying aspect, which was noted at the time, is that the general climate of fear even inhibited basic acts of psychological support among employees, clinging to the faint hope of escaping unscathed. Similarly, in France, an oversized apparatus of repression can sadistically maim protesters in front of cameras as soon as they deviate from pre-established rituals.
But even in the frivolous world of entertainment, a reality TV show concludes each episode with a vote by the participants to eliminate the week's loser, allowing the final winner to be crowned several weeks later. A peculiar illustration of democratic voting! In other forms of leisure consumed "at home," the porn industry makes unilateral sexual domination, consumed by the voyeur, its stock-in-trade. Through these various arrangements, a neo-culture (?) of "the strongest" is spreading, to which the colonization of the public sphere by sporting events has also contributed. Ultimately, bullying among teenagers testifies to the propensity to want to belittle others or at least to create a scapegoat on whom to focus the hatred of one's own experience. The algorithmic spell of social media increasingly leads us back to binary stimuli and simplistic judgments, which the far right thrives on.
The Middle East: Laboratory and Showcase
There may be levels of analysis in terms of geopolitical legacy (Europe's guilt regarding the Holocaust, the desire to drive a Western wedge into the Arab-Muslim world, etc.) that can explain the passivity of the Western democratic sphere in the face of Israel's relentless destruction and genocide in Gaza. Nevertheless, the unconscious element, a specter of decadent culture, is the fascination with power and the "strongest," which has led to an extreme relativization of the necessary spontaneous reaction to do everything possible to prevent the atrocious harm inflicted on the weak by this collective punishment: The large-scale cruelty perpetrated by the State of Israel, an ally of Western countries, sends a universal and demonstrative message to populations of what could potentially happen to them.
The war in Gaza quickly became a showcase of military operations in hostile environments, a subject readily observed by military general staffs worldwide. Conversely, it became a full-scale test to gauge how far peripheral populations, watching on their screens, would resign themselves to the barbarity while remaining passive.
The state of war and the automatic slide toward an emergency government lead to the height of the brutalization of social relations... to the point of wondering if the government doesn't need a state of war to eliminate all dissent.
Hysterical Development
A ghost in the machine haunts economic actors: how can this essential surplus value be extracted from market competition? When economic competition intensifies between companies in the same sector, or between these companies and their pressured subcontractors, and especially on employees subjected to maximum productivity, this tension spreads throughout society. Woe to the losers!
The right decision at the right time becomes the fantastical prerequisite for success. The figure of the brilliant decision-maker takes shape, someone who knows how to find solutions and, to do so, doesn't bother with details or "sterile" arguments about causes and effects (so true is it that technology would solve everything!), an inherently anti-ecological stance.
The drive for efficiency crushes scruples and methodical doubts. Authoritarianism becomes desirable when all democratic discussion is equated with a waste of time. As economic upheavals seem endless, the overestimation of the moment of "decision" (Krisis in Greek) to define a solution creates a dizzying sense of acceleration shared by all stakeholders. The constant escalation of change dismantles mental frameworks and hardens sensibilities. Distrust of "human nature," now suspected of being inadequate in the wondrous world of technological achievements, is embodied in the rejection of the losers and the dispossessed. The misanthropy of reactionary thought becomes proportional to the social power acquired, and the ruling class would readily believe that "everything that crawls on earth must be governed by force," so burdensome has the common people become to them. Faced with the disorientation of populations tossed from one crisis to another, from one anxiety-inducing piece of information to another (chemical poisoning, climate change), this future without a future resurrects compensatory myths from the past: nationalism, virility, from which uninhibited activist groups signal an offensive resurgence.
Regaining Ground Against the Sick Passions
Lacking a dissenting voice at the bottom of society, a wave has taken shape that sanctifies the law of the strongest, rejects all hesitation, glorifies willpower, blames the poor for their situation, and idolizes an imaginary community in the name of which to exclude, etc.
Sadism and cruelty become the ultimate expressions of non-reciprocity, as if social friction had become sterile in overcoming significant disparities. Contempt for the other becomes the condition for self-preservation. Unable to imagine a way out of this entrenched domination, energies harden and turn toward the most desirable solutions, that is to say, the most prestigious ones "on the winning side," or at least by adopting their boastful rhetoric. The dispossessed are also dispossessed by their inability to envision anything else, and they turn to their masters or new apprentice sorcerers to lead them, because, after all, it's better to trust the cleverest (Trumpism)!
For this tidal wave to claim hegemony, the revolutionary view that society can consciously transform itself had to collapse beforehand. This is because, in favor of the messianism of providential technological progress, the two great gaps in human history have been ignored: the fact that the humble rely on powers to which they become subordinate; and that the exchange between different human activities is mediated by the abstract value of money, a means that becomes its own end through interest-bearing loans and speculation, a game played on price.
While there is certainly no easy solution, there are sure ways for struggling communities to regain confidence: coordinating with elected representatives who can be recalled at any time; curbing competition by expanding mutual support; and rejecting the allure of the supposed advantages offered by the technological onslaught.
Tristan Vebens, November 2025
http://oclibertaire.lautre.net/spip.php?article4619
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Link: (en) France, OCL CA #356 - The Brutalization Inherent in Capitalist Social Relations: A Breeding Ground for Fascism (ca, de, fr, it, pt, tr)[machine translation]
Source: A-infos-en@ainfos.ca
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