are right-wing voters extra well mannered than left-wing voters? | EUROtoday

Dn a rustic in turmoil, right here is not less than a reassuring permanence. Right-wing France stays extra delicate than left-wing France to the priority for politeness. This is confirmed by an opinion survey carried out by the Cluster17 institute for The Pointand entitled “The French view of politeness and civic-mindedness”.

Among these surveyed, solely 6% of Éric Zemmour’s voters imagine that society can be higher off if there have been fewer social codes to respect, in comparison with 33% of Jean-Luc Mélenchon’s supporters. 16% of “zemmourists” approve of the generalization of familiarity in each day life, in comparison with 43% of supporters of Yannick Jadot.

Is this conservative leaning actually a shock on condition that politeness “presupposes respect for authorities and established hierarchies”, as Frédéric Rouvillois, writer of Politeness and politics (Editions du Cerf)? “The right-wing electorate has the feeling that France is in decline, that it’s a bit of a mess, that everything is going to hell. This is what this survey confirms,” analyzes Stéphane Fournier, examine director at Cluster17.

Conversely, the left persists in seeing the prescriptions of fine manners as a means of perpetuating inequalities. Typical of this conventional criticism, Jean-Luc Mélenchon notes on his weblog, on February 14, 2023, about “macronie” and “its media”: “The lessons of good manners are the traditional weapon of the supporters of established order to reestablish their class precedence [en bestialisant leurs adversaires]. » Is this why the Insoumis parliamentarians are returning to the imprecations and swearing of the Hébertists, the most radical of revolutionaries, also nicknamed the Enragés? On

Consensus

The persistence of this divide should not, however, mask the existence of a consensus: attachment to the rules of politeness remains almost unanimous among the French (96%). A concern undoubtedly reinforced by fears surrounding the “decivilization” and “wilding” of society, at a time of riots and unbridled violence amongst younger folks.

As Alain Finkielkraut writes within the e-book Discomfort in civility (Perrin, 2012), directed by Claude Habib and Philippe Raynaud: “We were sometimes even delighted to be cool enough to do without its stilted turns of phrase, its antiquated formulas, its useless complications. We only realize its existence and its importance when it gives way to its odious antonym. It appears precious to us now that it turns out to be precarious. » In fact, opinion surveys attest to a return to grace in the 1980s: “Fifteen years after May 68, the French became aware of its importance,” recollects Frédéric Rouvillois.

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But the connection civilly codes is evolving. The French as we speak reject requirements thought of formalist or outdated: solely 47% of respondents take into account that the costume codes which construction social relations (tie, go well with, go well with, and many others.) should proceed. Pierre Bréchon, professor emeritus of political science at Sciences Po Grenoble and director of the work Europeans and their values (Presses Universitaires de Grenoble, 2023), deciphers: “There exists in France, as elsewhere in Western Europe, a priority for civility which isn’t incompatible with the individualization of morals. The French distinguish between the rule of conformist politeness, which requires holding your little finger on the seam of your pants, and the respect for others important to good social integration. »

Reassuring? The survey above all reveals our personal blindness. In a rustic the place incivility abounds, 93% of these questioned guarantee, open-mouthed, that they respect the principles of politeness. As if breaches of fine manners solely involved others… When will or not it’s time for self-criticism?