defend democracy in the face of those who undermine it – Liberation
In recent times, we have seen the word « democracy » being used to designate everything and its opposite. In France, those who are unhappy with the decision rendered against Marine Le Pen within the framework of the so-called « RN assistants » denounces a so-called « denial of democracy », on the other side of the Atlantic, it is in the name of « democracy » that the Trump administration attacks the freedoms and fundamental rights.
However, this term, our most precious concept, is today emptied of its meaning, deliberately and for political ends. It is not a simple abuse of language: it is a well-established strategy aimed at destabilizing collective benchmarks and weakening the counterpowers.
Conceptual enlargement, semantic shift, excessive relativism are the privileged weapons of far -right international networks. All over the world, authoritarian and autocrats are working to undermine the very foundations of our democracy by manipulating words and facts, but also by attacking our institutions, our conquered and our rights. It is no coincidence that populist leaders in Europe and elsewhere adopt a rhetoric that claims to defend the « people » while limiting fundamental freedoms. When a government calls into question the independence of justice, it is democracy that vacillates. When a free press is attacked, it is the public debate that chokes.
Democracy is now undergoing daily attacks and our D
