Countries France US Presidential Election

In USA, Right Wing Social Media Users Lament Marie Le Pen’s Loss With ‘RIP France’

By Ricardo Lezama #France #Twitter

Contention and Critique: Social Media’s Reaction to French Election Results

The Twitter-verse Speaks on France’s Political sea-change

Many could be forgiven for thinking they had stumbled into an online memorial following the recent French elections. Social media platforms, more specifically Twitter, have been abuzz with the phrase “RIP France”. This phrase became a trend as conservatives worldwide voiced their dismay at the election results.

In international circles, the French elections beg further scrutiny. A key tweet states, “Hey America, Last week the Brits showed us how to get rid of conservatives. Now the French are showing us what to do with theirs. November is coming, take notes!,” speaking directly to American audiences, this tweet indicates a sharing of political approaches, highlighting an international attitude towards political conservatism. A perceived shift towards left-wing ideologies has led many voices to declare a figurative death of the nation.

However, there’s also a large number of users criticising the phrase as an exaggeration, pointing out France’s long history of political turbulence. A particularly controversial perspective suggested by a user states: “RIP women of France. It’s a win for the men. Women will fall under Sharia law and lose every right they have fought for over the last 100 years.” With such claims, Twitter yet again proves itself to be an arena for loaded and very racist discussions, and whether they base in fact or fear, these statements reverberate through the online community, shaping and reflecting global thought on international affairs. In our view, the owner sponsors, supports and extends their visibility, but much of the world is inoculated from the most extreme forms of racism.

Nevertheless, a lot of the comments come from Egg Accounts, ones that are anonymized and without a real profile picture:

So, in other words, who knows how most US based folks actually feel with these insane amount of random, possibly burner accounts.

By Ricardo Lezama