One week before the first round of legislative elections, France is observing all signs that may indicate the result at the polls. During Fashion Week in Paris, politicians’ clothing is also the subject of analysis.
– Uniform –
The French politician has his uniform: navy blue suit, fitted and with narrow lapels, white shirt and thin tie. The fashion began with then-president Nicolas Sarkozy (2007-2012), marking the end of the gray suit.
“It conveys respect, authority and, above all, it is not ostentatious”, analyzes fashion journalist Marc Beaugé. According to him, “social democracy, the center, combines with a smooth style”.
– Quickly redesigned-
During the 2014 World Cup, journalist Marc Beaugé was called to the Elysée Palace, he told AFP, to provide image consultancy for François Hollande, a supporter of “neither too elegant nor too careless”.
Women, both on the right and left, have also gradually abandoned designer pieces, despite the appreciation of some for haute couture, such as the Minister of Culture, Rachida Dati, who almost always wears trousers, but does not stop wearing dresses by houses such as Schiaparelli at major events.
– Glasses, beard, smile… –
In 2012, a study published in the Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization asked a representative group of the French population to attribute the political orientation of 550 candidates for the European elections based on a photograph.
“We observed what differentiated, in people’s minds, the appearance of a left-wing deputy from a right-wing one,” its author, economist Pierre-Guillaume Méon, told AFP.
“The color of the tie had a great influence: red or colored for the left, blue for the right. Deputies with beards and mustaches were more often attributed to the left,” he adds.
“Glasses were more suitable for the left (…) the fact of showing teeth when smiling, a marker for the right”, he explains.
– Sport cloth –
During Emmanuel Macron’s presidency, blue attire, the politician’s trademark, is customary. Justice Minister Eric Dupond-Moretti follows the trend, but leaves his prized luxury watches at home.
Emmanuel Macron, who occasionally appears in sports or informal attire on social media, also communicates through image. On June 9, to announce the dissolution of the National Assembly, he exceptionally wore black.
– Standardization –
The extreme right, which entered the National Assembly with force in 2022 and could win a majority in the next elections, uses formal clothing to convey an idea of normalization.
After the success of 2022, Marine Le Pen imposed the use of ties on all elected positions, “although almost no one wears them in France”, says Marc Beaugé.
– Mélenchon’s worker’s coat –
Jean-Luc Mélenchon, leader of France Insubmissa (LFI, radical left), is a supporter of the four-pocket jacket with a narrow collar, a symbol of the working-class and revolutionary tradition, also related to the Chinese tunic with its Mao collar.
França Insubmissa did not hesitate to politicize the issue of clothing in Parliament.
Accused by right-wing deputy Renaud Muselier of looking “dirty and disheveled”, LFI deputies took advantage of the occasion and determined the dresscode for the Assembly on July 26, 2022: disheveled clothes and a tie on top.
2024-06-24 14:49:15