The economic divide between peripheral France and the metropolises illustrates the separation of an elite and its popular hinterland. Western elites have gradually forgotten a people they no longer see. The impact of the gilets jaunes, and their support in public opinion (eight out of 10 French people approve of their actions), has amazed politicians, trade unions and academics, as if they have discovered a new tribe in the Amazon.
The point, remember, of the gilet jaune is to ensure its wearer is visible on the road. And whatever the outcome of this conflict, the gilets jaunes have won in terms of what really counts: the war of cultural representation. Working-class and lower middle-class people are visible again and, alongside them, the places where they live.
Their need in the first instance is to be respected, to no longer be thought of as “deplorable”. Michael Sandel is right when he points out the inability of the elites to take the aspirations of the poorest seriously. These aspirations are simple: the preservation of their social and cultural capital and work. For this to be successful we must end the elite “secession” and adapt the political offers of left and right to their demands. This cultural revolution is a democratic and societal imperative – no system can remain if it does not integrate the majority of its poorest citizens.
Christophe Guilluy is the author of Twilight of the Elites: Prosperity, Periphery and the Future of France