For five weeks now, demonstrations against the health pass have punctuated France every Saturday. For the historian and sociologist of social movements Stéphane Sirot, interviewed by 20 minutes, this “disparate” and “anti-institutional” movement, which is reminiscent of the “yellow vests”, is part of a context of continuous social boiling since 2016 and the demonstrations against the Labor law .
With the approach of the presidential election of 2022 and the examination of the already criticized reforms of unemployment insurance and the pension system, should we fear a return to all disputes? Maintenance.
The health pass was extended this summer by the government to fight against the spread of Covid-19, and in particular the Delta variant. How is this challenge to the health pass special?
What is unprecedented is the context in which they take place. We have never seen so many social mobilizations follow one another since 2016 and demonstrations against the Labor law. Little by little, very classic demonstrations, supported by trade unions, were replaced by mobilizations more difficult to identify and outside the institutional field, such as Nuit Debout, the crisis of “yellow vests”, or these demonstrations against the past. health conditions that we see today.
The emergence of social networks and the misappropriation of political and trade union organizations, which find it increasingly difficult to conduct effective protests, are all reasons which may explain the birth of these new forms of mobilization.
You mentioned the resemblance to the “yellow vests” movement. Do we find the latter in the demonstrations?
It would take a thorough sociological analysis to tell but, from what I have seen, these manifestations are more disparate than those of the “yellow vests”. If the latter support the opposition to the sanitary pass – opinion studies show it – we see that higher social categories, generally absent in this kind of demonstrations, are, this time, very present.
The common point, however, lies in a form of rejection of power that we were already seeing with the “yellow vests”. A mixture of anti-systemism and anti-macronism which is sometimes very virulent, even epidermal, which reflects a strong split in our society, in the opinion of our fellow citizens, and a strong feeling of inequality.
The supposed hypocrisy of government decisions is a theme widely denounced during these demonstrations, because the establishment of the health pass is seen by many as a disguised form of compulsory vaccination, which would undoubtedly have been better accepted if this had been brought about with pedagogy. .
The President of the Republic and his majority made very harsh remarks towards the demonstrators …
It is a classic of the presidential majority and Emmanuel Macron to tend to divide things before trying to appease them when he is confronted with a social movement. A majority of people supporting the application of the health pass and having already been fully vaccinated, judge with contempt those who mobilize against this measure, ultimately refer them to the status of enlightened or conspiratorial – there are many, but they do not. represent all of the demonstrators.
This cleavage is also felt on the side of trade unions and political organizations, which are struggling to agree on the subject. I do not know if this is part of a strategy, but if the government’s objective was to divide its opponents, it has succeeded.
The various forthcoming reforms point to new challenges. Can we imagine a convergence of struggles?
I do not think so. Today, the only political organizations to support protests against the health pass are those that are anti-system. I am thinking of Florian Philippot, Nicolas Dupont-Aignan and, to a lesser extent, the rebels. But these supports make it difficult for trade unions or more traditional political groups to join this movement.
The unions often struggle to get out of the workplace – this is partly why they were not involved with the “yellow vests” – and do not want to share the poster with politicians who would be characterized as belonging to the extreme right. For politicians, it is more complicated to demonstrate against a health measure than against a truly political measure. Protests will certainly take place in the fall, the trade unions have already called to mobilize against the various reforms, but they will not go beyond their framework.
It is not so much a convergence that the power fears, but a multiplication of struggles. Bikers know how to be mobilized, and the government clearly has no interest in seeing the emergence of a new form of social discontent, so this suspension of technical control finally seems quite logical. In the spring of 2018, we were already observing a form of amalgamation of struggles and an increase in the balance of power between the people and the government. In the fall, the “yellow vests” movement made its appearance. These are typically the kinds of situations the government wants to avoid.
Do you think that, like those of the “yellow vests”, the demonstrations against the health pass will be made to continue?
It is difficult to say, I think that the first weeks of application of the health pass at school and in the professional environment will be decisive in its acceptance, or not, by our fellow citizens. One can imagine that if things go well, the protests could lose force. On the contrary, other situations could prove to be disastrous. I am thinking in particular of parents who could see their children “evicted” from school, to use the words of Jean-Michel Blanquer, if they are not vaccinated or in possession of a health pass.
The government being overwhelmingly supported by public opinion, it is unlikely that it will seek a compromise. A fringe of diehards, fundamentally opposed to the health pass, could then continue to mobilize, week after week, as we observed in 2018 and 2019 with the “yellow vests”. What is complicated with these types of demonstrations is that they give the impression that they will never stop!
The presidential election will undoubtedly play an important role, although abstention is a fear, since voters could decide to sanction the incumbent president at the polls. The prospect of an upcoming election could therefore, in a way, calm things down.