French Presidential Campaign Kicks Off With Debate Over Colonialism Trial

In a remarkable move, former French Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin attacked colonialism and its heavy political legacy, and on this occasion called on the French to free themselves from colonial thinking, starting “from within us, from our perspective, from our words, from our ways of thinking?”

This statement came at a special political juncture marked by the beginning of political factions in France focusing on the upcoming presidential elections, the first stages of which began last Saturday with what is known as the “primaries.”

Dominique de Villepin wrote in a tweet on his “X” account at the end of the week, commenting on the colonial phenomenon that will be strongly present in the upcoming presidential election scene: “These are the questions Aimé Césaire raises in his book ‘Discourse on Colonialism,’ by turning peoples into mere objects, and lands into spoils,” and “he accused the perpetrators of these heinous practices of barbarism.”

De Villepin is considered one of the most prominent figures associated with the fragmented Gaullist movement.

He held many high-ranking positions in the French state, including Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs during the era of the late President Jacques Chirac. In recent years, he has stood out for his anti-colonial discourse and criticism of the policies of the current President, Emmanuel Macron, especially regarding Paris’s recent stances on the crisis with Algeria, unlike his colleague in the same movement, former Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau, who also presents himself as a Gaullist but adopts a right-wing political discourse that glorifies colonialism, sometimes exceeding the discourse of the far-right represented by Le Pen’s party.

The second-in-command during President Jacques Chirac’s term explained that “the first lesson from this text: ‘Civilization is measured by its treatment of those it might wish to crush’,” and he began his dissection of this dilemma from the arena of language, which he said is considered a “battleground” in terms of concepts.

He wrote, commenting: “Aimé Césaire attacks the words that numb us, like civilizing missions, which are in fact a systematic process of dehumanization. He imposes strict discipline on us: to name things precisely, because misnaming what is unacceptable allows it to flourish under the guise of respect.”

Dominique de Villepin’s words target some French politicians from the conservative right who have decided to run in the French presidential election race, such as Bruno Retailleau and his rival Laurent Wauquiez from “Les Républicains” party, as well as Jordan Bardella from the far-right, who will replace Marine Le Pen in the race after she was barred by a judicial decision from her political rights in the bribery scandal that shook the foundations of her party.

In a harmony that conceals a political flirtation with members of immigrant communities, foremost among them French people of Algerian origin, as the largest community in France in terms of numbers, de Villepin said in the tweet: “There are no human rights that stop at borders or skin color. Accepting the idea that some are ‘less human’ than others is tantamount to allowing the destruction of the entire edifice of our dignity.”

These concepts attempt to demolish the philosophy of racism based on the idea that the mission of the European in overseas colonies was to “bring civilization” to others.

The proponent of the ethical doctrine in political practice considered indifference to colonial thinking to be “complicity,” because “colonialism thrives on habit and the comfort of consciences that are lenient in the face of distant suffering. Once the life of another becomes a mere statistic or ‘file,’ we pave the way for more barbarism.”

He pointed out that “applying Césaire’s reading to today’s reality is an act of absolute vigilance: it is a rejection of reification in all its forms, whether economic or security-related, and considering all humanity as the sole criterion.”

The words of the former French Prime Minister and prospective candidate for the French presidential elections indicate that the issue of French colonialism will be at the crux of political discussions during the upcoming French presidential election campaign, as it is a sharp point of contention between two large political families: the left, with all its branches demanding an apology from France for its horrendous colonial crimes, and the right, with all its parties, which adopts a false thesis that French colonialism was a civilizing mission.