French Far-Left Leader: ‘White, Christian’ France Never Existed

Mathilde Panot, who leads Jean-Luc Mélenchon’s La France Insoumise party in the lower chamber of parliament, not only promoted the concept of a so-called New France but effectively denied that traditional France ever existed, according to Breitbart News.

In an interview with Le Média, the representative for Val-de-Marne’s 10th constituency insisted that the political left must never concede anything whatsoever to the far right, arguing that accepting their premises makes right-wing politics socially acceptable.

Ignoring France’s Christian heritage that stretches back to the 5th century with the conversion of Clovis I, Panot claimed the right fantasizes about a France that has never existed—a supposedly white, Christian France being invaded by outsiders. She accused conservatives of being completely lost in delusions about the true nature of their country.

The La France Insoumise leader further argued that the only way to defeat the right is to remain steadfast and refuse to yield even an inch on racism, immigration, and related issues. She claimed that anyone who makes concessions on these topics is effectively helping the right advance by playing into their ideological framework.

Panot’s remarks came as a growing consensus emerges across France’s political spectrum against mass migration. Even fellow leftist François Ruffin, formerly of the same party, came out last month in favor of limiting foreign influx to protect French workers’ wages.

Meanwhile, neo-liberal Macronists seeking tactical left-wing votes in the upcoming presidential election have also shifted rhetoric. Former Prime Minister Gabriel Attal and Justice Minister Gérald Darmanin both called for significant immigration cuts within the past week.

In stark contrast, Panot and her party’s presidential candidate Mélenchon have doubled down on multiculturalism under the banner of New France.

Mélenchon, born in Morocco to Sicilian and Spanish parents, has celebrated what he calls the creolization of France through the importation of millions of foreigners, primarily from former French colonies in North Africa. This strategy has made his party a major political force in areas dominated by ethnic minorities, such as the Seine-Saint-Denis commune outside Paris.

While Mélenchon has embraced the term Great Replacement—arguing it represents a positive and natural phenomenon where one generation replaces the previous—he has also made clear that he views the native French population, particularly the rural, Catholic working class, as a primary obstacle to establishing a socialist state.

With information from Breitbart News