A-Infos (en) France, OCL CA #361 - The Banquets of the "French Canon": Dangerous Liaisons (ca, de, fr, it, pt, tr)[machine translation]

For several years, the "French Canon" (C.F.) banquets have been 
multiplying in France. Recently, the event was held in Caen. "A reunion 
of good Frenchmen...well...of bon vivants," P.A. Mortemard de Boisse, 
one of the founders of these banquets, corrects himself in front of the 
camera. --- April 18th in Caen --- "Giant banquets, apolitical," 
declares G.F. de la Tour, another instigator. "It's a way to promote 
gastronomy and regional traditions." French gastronomy reduced to 
sausage and red wine, with guests wearing suspenders and (Basque) 
berets. Can we seriously believe these initiators, when reactionary 
billionaires have invested in a portion of the print and broadcast 
media, and created training and communication centers for future leaders 
ready to seize power and lead the "renewal" of France?

On April 18th, the "C.F." (French Communist Party) took over the 
exhibition hall in Caen, Normandy. A moderate, center-right city, where 
the National Rally is stagnating with still limited electoral results. 
Admittedly, from time to time, a boil bursts. A prospective National 
Rally candidate poses with a Nazi cap on her head, a student is 
photographed giving a Nazi salute at the university, and a provocative 
septuagenarian makes a Nazi salute... in the La France Insoumise (LFI) 
headquarters. Four individuals also brutally assaulted a former 
communist city councilor between two cars simply for being a 
"communist," calling him a "leftist." Such could be the fascist danger 
in Caen, were it not for these far-right groups lurking in the shadows, 
awaiting the next victory of their candidate. These are symptoms that 
should alert everyone. In short, a far-right group salivated at the 
prospect of this festive and cultural event, which required 
reservations, cost 80 euros per meal, and drew 4,000 people. This event 
was authorized by the prefect and accepted by the newly re-elected 
center-right municipal council. But, under scrutiny, it has sparked 
opposition from Socialist Party and La France Insoumise (LFI) elected 
officials in Caen, including MEP E. Fourreau, as well as from the 2,000 
signatories of a petition demanding its cancellation.

A seemingly "apolitical" banquet, intended to celebrate "local produce 
and heritage," provided the far right with a prime opportunity to gather 
regionally and unleash their rhetoric, far removed from the constraints 
imposed by the National Rally and its polished image. The event was 
exposed by a journalist from "France Inter" who was present that 
afternoon. Fueled by feasting and alcohol, some participants let loose, 
with racist and hateful remarks fueling the meal and gestures resembling 
Nazi salutes. "Here there's us, then the animals opposite" (1). "We have 
to put out pork! The pork scares them away... with pork you're safe." It 
is undoubtedly with such inspiration that pig heads have been placed, at 
other times, in front of mosques. The "convivial" event ended, around 5 
p.m., when some 200 heavily intoxicated revelers spilled into downtown 
Caen, creating an atmosphere of anxiety. They gave Nazi salutes and 
continued to hurl racist and Islamophobic insults, as well as homophobic 
and sexist remarks.

Faced with such behavior, a demonstration was called about ten days 
later by political parties, unions, and various groups: "Faced with the 
rise of the far right, let's build an anti-fascist and anti-racist 
response." However, the demonstration only drew about a hundred 
participants.

Of course, following the excesses at the "Canon Français," an 
investigation is underway. Furthermore, this has led to bans on these 
"convivial" banquets in other places: in Rennes, Quimper, and elsewhere.

French Canon and "Project Pericles"
The acronym "Pericles" (Patriots. Rooted. Resisters. Identitarians. 
Christians. Liberals. Europeans. Sovereignists) (2) was initiated by 
Pierre Édouard Sterin, a self-proclaimed patriotic Catholic billionaire 
living in exile in Belgium since 2012. This wealthy individual (3) worth 
1.2 billion euros told the newspaper Le Pèlerin: "I prefer to avoid 
paying taxes, to earn more money so I can redistribute it wisely." It is 
therefore with good reason that he has endowed his project, dated 2023, 
with a budget of 150 million euros to be invested over ten years, with 
the aim of supporting media outlets or creating horizontal spaces 
conducive to the dissemination of his conservative and reactionary 
ideological and political vision of France. An era seems to have passed: 
the time when big business delegated its interests to government 
political managers, often right-wing, but also left-wing, aided by 
journalists to serve them. For this new bourgeoisie, these newly rich, 
it's no longer a question of sponsoring or advancing pawns as before, 
but of acting directly, openly, through multiple and diverse networks 
that share the same goals: the renewal of France, a return to order, and 
an attack on democracy. All means are fair game to promote the 
nauseating, unequal, and racist ideologies of the past. The aim is to 
create an elite ready to seize power one way or another when the time 
comes; a political class steeped in far-right ideas. A synthesis of 
identity-based radicalism, traditionalist Catholicism, and the defense 
of freedoms... but above all, the freedoms of capital against the world 
of labor. A world of work seen as intellectually and morally decaying, 
viewed through the lens of its social minorities: the precariously 
employed, immigrants, women, and so on. A world maintained by a 
soft-core liberal bourgeoisie that must be ousted.
With the "C.F." (presumably referring to a specific organization or 
group), these event promoters organize "giant banquets" across France 
under the guise of "cultural and apolitical" events. This is a class 
strategy championed by a radical bourgeoisie that is unapologetic and 
promotes a right-wing alliance, ready for a fight: from Bernard 
Retailleau to Éric Zemmour and his associates. A reinvigorated 
bourgeoisie of the super-rich, which, through its financial resources, 
intervenes openly and directly to ensure the triumph of its reactionary 
ideas. Take Vincent Bolloré, for example, who, from the heights of his 
financial empire, has revolutionized the French audiovisual landscape, 
allowing his conservative ideas to spread gradually and thus establish 
their framework within current affairs debates. This magnate initiated 
the campaign against Radio France and public news services, demanding 
their demise through his zealous servants. Similarly, Philippe de 
Villiers revisits the national narrative in the shows presented at Puy 
du Fou and also hosts a political program on CNews. These billionaires 
are orchestrating a reactionary strategy inspired by the United States, 
where other billionaires surrounding Donald Trump (another billionaire 
elected president) are no longer content with simply sponsoring 
Democratic or Republican election campaigns, but are ubiquitous, acting 
from the highest levels of government and shaping the country's 
political and social life both domestically and internationally.

Decaen 2 05 2026

Notes
1- This is reminiscent of the humiliating remarks made by Israeli 
Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, who called Palestinians "human animals" a 
few days after October 7, 2023...
2- L'Humanité newspaper, in July 2024, but also France Inter, 
Ouest-France, etc.

3- Co-founder of the "Smart-box" gift boxes

http://oclibertaire.lautre.net/spip.php?article4731
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