A lot is happening and a lot is going on in France this month.

Even if the French stopped complaining about Paris 2024 a few weeks ago because other matters took centre stage, the Summer Olympic Games are starting on July 26. Germany technically hosts the UEFA European Football Championship and since the French team keeps advancing, it’s somewhat of a big deal with tons of fans (including Mark and his poor mother who doesn’t even drink…) watching the games in bars.

And of course, right now, everybody is talking about the elections. It’s a very French matter but it’s a very big deal—the far right has never been that close to power and in the absence of an outright majority (the most likely scenario so far), the country will end up with a non-functioning government and political instability.

It’s a political earthquake and France is deeply divided. I keep on catching snatches of conversations about the elections and politics everywhere I go. For all of us who didn’t vote for the far-right party comes the sudden realization that almost four out of ten people did. Who are they? Where are they? Why?

This week, the national game is “Who voted for what?” Given the far-right surge, you can’t trust anyone anymore. We use passphrases, like “I went to the protest last Sunday…” to see the reaction, which can be an enthusiastic “Me too!” or a frown “Well, we can’t let far-left anarchists lead the country, can we?”

It’s a weird week. It reminds me of the COVID-19 mass vaccination campaign in 2021 when suddenly, some trusted friends and relatives started talking about “magnetic 5G implants,” “DNA alteration” or “deep state control.” Beyond normal concerns about the vaccine and understandable pandemic fatigue, some people went very, very far to spread misinformation and conspiracist narratives, and more normal folks than I thought believed them.

I’m angry. I can’t believe France is turning to the far right for solutions and putting democracy in danger. Polarization is a global illness. It damages institutions, poisons society, and doesn’t solve anything.

Since I was angry, we went to Angers—don’t look back in anger (I hear you say). And yes, people were talking about the elections over there as well…