For episode 169, Elia Ayoub is joined by returning guests Sahar Amarir and Rim-Sarah Alouane to talk about the situation in France, from the recent elections that saw a surprising victory for a Left-Green alliance to how Macronism has been actively normalizing the far right. They described the situation as grim, with far right ideology on questions of race and freedom of worship (especially Islam) the norm in France, with grave implications for the country, the EU and the world. We also talked about Alouane's recent piece on France banning veiled Muslim athletes despite making an inclusivity pledge.

The Fire These Times is a proud member of ⁠From The Periphery (FTP) Media Collective⁠. How to Support: on ⁠Patreon⁠ or on ⁠Apple Podcasts⁠. You'll get early access to all podcasts, exclusive audio and video episodes, an invitation to join ⁠our monthly hangouts⁠, and more.

Previous episodes with the guests:

Sahar: Anti-Imperialism after the Syrian Revolution (Episode 154)
Rim-Sarah: The Inherent Toxicity of France’s ‘Islamo-Leftism’ Obsession (Episode 72)

Other links:

That One Time the Olympics Were Cool w/ James Stout (Episode 165)
The Far Right is Not Inevitable w/ Aurelien Mondon (Episode 163)

Transcriptions: Transcriptions will be by Antidotezine and published on The Fire These Times.

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Follow Rim-Sarah Alouane on LinkedIn and Bluesky, and check out her website

Credits:

S6E4: A Conversation with Michael Sandel and Editor-in-Chief Bret Stephens