France: Fashion industry players mobilise against the National Rally

As France waits for the second round of legislative elections, part of the country is mobilising against the arrival of the National Rally (RN) in power, after it won 29.25 percent of the vote (33.15 percent with the Republican allies) in the first round. In this historic context, a handful of personalities from the fashion sector have spoken out on social media and are calling for a vote against the RN.

Since Emmanuel Macron's surprise announcement of the dissolution of the National Assembly on June 9, Simon Porte Jacquemus has been one of the French fashion designers who has spoken out the most about the early legislative elections. On June 21, the creator of the eponymous brand urged his followers to mobilise by posting the word "Vote" on a red background on his Instagram account. He added in the caption: "I call on everyone to mobilise, the young, the old, and the others... For those who love France, this great country for the same reasons as me. Don't let anyone decide. Whatever your reasons, the extremes in power are never a solution. I can't continue to post beauty and joy as if everything was fine. VOTE."

After the results of the first round, Jacquemus reiterated his political commitment by publishing the following message: "On Sunday, let's vote against the RN / We're not going anywhere."

Also on Instagram, French model Caroline de Maigret shared a message from MEP Raphaël Glucksmann in her story: "Let's be clear and try to be honest because only sincerity can raise us to the height of the peril: there will be neither a Macronist majority nor a left-wing majority next Sunday. So, the unique issue in this second round is the absolute majority for the RN. And the only way to answer is with 'yes' or 'no'." To clarify the point, the Chanel brand ambassador added: "Sunday, it's voting for or against [she circled the word 'against'] an absolute majority for the RN."

Jean-Pierre Blanc, the founder of the famous Hyères International Festival of Fashion, Photography and Accessories (more commonly known as the Hyères festival), published on his Instagram account a screenshot of an article from the media outlet Libération titled: "2024 legislative elections: faced with the RN danger, the left withdraws without hesitation." He also shared an interview conducted by the same media outlet with Marine Tondelier, the national secretary of the Ecologists, who spoke about the coalition to be formed in the National Assembly after July 7.

The RN, a political party harmful to Made in France

On LinkedIn, Julia Faure, the co-founder of the French brand Loom, was keen to point out that "the far right is not good news for Made in France". She stated: "In fact, the far right does not defend Made in France. It is quite the opposite. One example among others: the measures against immigrant workers risk further increasing the difficulties of a sector that suffers in particular from its difficulty in recruiting." She added: "For our industry, our sovereignty and for the interests of France in general, it would be a catastrophe if such a party took power on Sunday evening."

Two days ago, Yann Rivoallan, president of the French Women's Ready-to-Wear Federation, also sounded the alarm on his Instagram account: "This weekend I saw the youth singing. Proud to celebrate tolerance, the future, all together. This weekend, I saw 35 years of personal struggle against the FN about to be lost. A third of the French are angry, they want to overturn the table. We have one week to avoid a devastating tidal wave in the Assembly. And we will have weeks, months and years of work to rebuild a united country."

The second round of the 2024 legislative elections will take place on July 7.

This article originally appeared on FashionUnited.FR. Translation via AI and edit by Rachel Douglass.