Paradoxical popularity
François Ruffin. The day after the last presidential election, the LFI deputy for the Somme did not hesitate to criticize his camp's tropism in favor of large metropolises, calling for a greater focus on towns and rural areas. Claim which had internally attracted the wrath of several rebellious executives.
This calculated but assumed step aside nevertheless testifies to a positioning which seems to be paying off among public opinion since, in this month of April 2024, a poll propels him to the second round in the event of a single candidacy on the left in 2027, unlike the indestructible Mélenchon. Under the same conditions, the latter would fail behind Édouard Philippe in the first round. Even among the rebellious electorate, this one would do better than this one. Promise of a meteoric rise to the top? For that, François Ruffin would still have to be sure of his bases. Because it is not only the executives who distrust him, at least occasionally, some sympathizers are not more tender. Thus, his absence at the demonstration against “racism and Islamophobia” this Sunday, April 21 in Paris – as at the one held five years ago – is judged harshly by many Internet users close to LFI. “ I'm looking for a photo of Ruffin at an anti-racist demonstration », sneers one. “ Great hope for a guy who would let minorities die », even dares another.
Pope Francis. The sovereign pontiff arouses praise that is unexpected to say the least, like that of the Insoumis, precisely, quick to welcome his declarations during his recent visit to Marseille on the theme of migration. His distrust of conservatism makes him a pope paradoxically more appreciated by those who consider themselves outside the Church than by practicing Catholics. Internally, some are even echoing an unprecedented rebellion against the Holy Father in the cozy corridors of the Vatican. Never in Roman memory would such a level of tension have been reached.
At issue, in particular, his reputedly brutal management and the appointment to a key position of an Argentinian friend, Cardinal Fernandez. It is he who, at the end of 2023, opens up the possibility of being blessed to homosexual couples. A red line for African bishops who quickly make it known. End of reign atmosphere.
READ ALSO : The Germany versus France match: who has the best cannabis policy?
Jesuit?
François Ruffin. The former journalist spent most of his schooling at the Amiens high school La Providence, a private establishment managed by the Society of Jesus. During these years, the comfortable faith of his rich peers repelled him, a Marxist at heart. In Inner peace and social peace, a book-dialogue with Mgr Leborgne, then bishop of Amiens, Ruffin the atheist, the only one in his class not to have made his first communion, confides his aspiration to transcendence and spiritual elevation. He also blurts out, casually: “Today, religious people embody marginality. Anyone who decides to become a “cureton” these days is an outsider. And that, I can only appreciate”. A slope which leads him to regularly describe himself as a “non-believing Christian”.
Pope Francis.The first Jesuit pope in history maintains a bond with the Congregation of Saint Ignatius that dates back to his formative years. Destined for the priesthood at the age of 22, he entered the novitiate of the Society of Jesus before continuing his theological studies in a Jesuit establishment in Buenos Aires. Shortly after his ordination, he was named provincial of the Jesuits of Argentina, a position he held for six years. His positions, considered very progressive compared to the line embodied by his predecessors, can be better read in the light of his affiliation with this order now renowned for its reformist tendency.
Social fiber
François Ruffin.Foundation of the newspaper Fakirstrong support for Whirlpool workers, fierce defense of the working classes, achievement of Thanks boss !a satirical film lampooning Bernard Arnault… “My enemy is indifference”, declares this scion of a middle-class family in 2022, paraphrasing a socialist in a presidential campaign elected ten years earlier. The social fiber anchored to the body, François Ruffin stands out within his political family for a certain societal prudenceevidenced by his opposition to GPA which makes some rebellious people cringe.
Asked in 2023 about the advisability of a law promoting gender change, he replied: “For me, the heart of the subject is work, the sharing of wealth, democracy. » Scandal for his rebellious comrades, who call on the heartless to justify himself. The intimidation works, the person concerned immediately backpedals.
READ ALSO : The Scientology versus Islamism match: who will benefit the most from the Olympic Games?
Pope Francis.Everyone has their own formula. There “globalization of indifference”, denounced in 2013 by the newly elected Francis, resoundingly marks the entry into the matter of a pope focused on the social question. The phrase was released during his first papal trip, to migrants who had landed on the Italian island of Lampedusa. This horizontal orientation, which is well illustrated by the current synod on the future of the Church – a major consultation supposed to include the faithful from around the world and whose final session will be held in October 2024 – has not been denied since. In the encyclical Fratelli tutti (2020), he bites the “naive individualist culture in the face of unbridled economic interests”. François Ruffin could have written it.
