Former French Minister Criticizes Narrow Focus of Presidential Campaign Debates

"This campaign saddens me. It gives me the feeling that we have all been waiting for a moment that never came, whether it was a real campaign moment, or a real media agenda-setting of major issues for the next five years. Whether it’s on social, climate, global, or even anthropological issues, since Covid should have shaken up some of our software, I haven’t heard anything interesting in this campaign so far," said Najat Vallaud Belkacem in an interview with Jeune Afrique. According to her, this does not necessarily mean that the candidates have nothing to say on these subjects, but rather that they are not encouraged to address them. "Which is a shame, because a presidential election is the ideal time to re-examine our societal choices," lamented the former minister of François Hollande.

"As an example, I find it distressing that international issues have only been addressed from the angle of migration. This is simply not up to the level of France and the place it occupies in the world," she continued, noting that this obscures essential themes such as "our interdependencies, exposed to the light during the health crisis, or the surge of solidarity shown towards Ukraine, after years of emotional anesthesia towards refugees."