In the National Assembly,
“A vast global sewer”. Anne Hidalgo loudly announced her departure from X (ex-Twitter) this Monday. The socialist mayor of Paris denounces, in a forum at World, “manipulation” and “disinformation”, which according to her have transformed the platform into a “weapon of mass destruction of our democracies”.
She is the first leading French politician to leave the social network since its takeover by billionaire Elon Musk, in April 2022. An isolated initiative to make people forget her controversial trip to Tahiti, or a real act of rupture which could make little ones in the political class?
“It takes a certain panache”
“Only ten times…”, “I connect three times a day, but it can be much more…”, “In certain periods, it can be around twenty times…” The elected officials met this Tuesday in the corridors of the National Assembly recognizes a form of addiction to the old little blue bird. Some of them therefore recognize Anne Hidalgo’s audacity in having succeeded in saying goodbye to her 1.5 million subscribers. “She shows a certain courage in not giving in to the ultra-presence on social networks,” greets Benjamin Saint-Huile, deputy for the North of the Liot group. “Twitter is a media-political bubble in which the protagonists gaze at each other’s navels. I am not decided to take the plunge today, but there is no moral obligation to stay in this great virtual commerce café,” he assures.
“You need a certain panache,” adds Alma Dufour, MP for La France insoumise. “I find it more courageous than #NoTwitterday [journée de boycott pour contester les 1 an de Musk]. But I’m not sure that this is conducive. Rather, there should be a collective and legislative response against these abuses,” continues the elected representative from Seine-Maritime.
“Leaving Twitter means losing a network built over ten years”
If some parliamentarians agree with the criticisms addressed to the social network, they nevertheless consider it essential in their communication. “We ask ourselves the question [d’un départ] since the takeover by Musk, and we can see that the fears we expressed turned out to be well-founded. The premium on radicalism, on lies that spread faster than verified information, are a danger for democracy,” says Arthur Delaporte, PS deputy for Calvados. “The problem is that Twitter has a form of monopoly. Leaving it means losing a network built over ten years, and that can be useful when you don’t have such easy access to the media,” he adds.
“At this stage, leaving Twitter is not at all on our radar,” says Alma Dufour. We are well aware of the dangers of the platform, which seems to favor the far right. But there is no credible alternative. We cannot do without it to communicate, it remains very useful, particularly in the face of the control of billionaires over the media, who sometimes deliver overwhelming and biased words,” continues the rebel.
A “counterfire” lit by Hidalgo
“Like all tools, they can be a democratic danger when they do not respect democratic rules and practices. Yes, the algorithm favors clashes rather than consensus, but nothing new there, says MoDem deputy Erwan Balanant. I am not fooled by Anne Hidalgo’s desire to light multiple counterfires to dispel the controversies over her Polynesian escapade,” continues the elected official from Finistère. The mayor of Paris has been in turmoil since the revelations about her trip to Polynesia in October, which earned her a report and a complaint for embezzlement of public funds, currently under study at the National Financial Prosecutor’s Office (PNF).
“There are abuses on Twitter as everywhere on the Internet. Madame Hidalgo is offended by this today out of opportunism,” also tackles Julien Odoul, National Rally deputy for Yonne. “By spending less time on social networks, perhaps she will be able to work a little more because her management of the city is catastrophic and the 2026 municipal elections will arrive very quickly.” Will the mayor of Paris one day return to X? Since its announcement, no messages have been published. But his account has not (yet?) been deleted…