Hugely popular French YouTuber Squeezie warned against the hard-right in an open letter ahead of the forthcoming snap elections taking place on June 30 and July 7.
In an Instagram post on June 14, Squeezie, whose real name is Lucas Hauchard, cautioned his 8.7 million followers about the National Rally (RN) stating: “National Rally won’t help you.”
The message, titled Letter to the Young People Who Follow Me, addressed the dangers of what he called a “drastic rise of the far-right” and outlined the “disastrous” consequences of RN’s potential coming to power in France.
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“The consequences of a far-right party in power are far more disastrous than any political party,” Squeezie wrote, reflecting on the RN’s history and political strategy of the party originally founded by Jean-Marie Le Pen.
He emphasised that RN’s primary advantage was that it “has never held power”, which he claimed had allowed it to escape the scrutiny other parties face. Squeezie took care not to alienate his audience, acknowledging: “There’s no shame in falling for them.”
The message sparked political debate in the comments section, with some defending RN and others drawing parallels between it and the hard-left La France Insoumise party.
One commenter remarked: “Not very politically neutral, the RN is no longer the bête noire that the FN used to be – open your eyes!”
Squeezie’s post marked the first time he had specifically commented on politics. “I have never wanted to talk to you about politics or get involved in party politics, because everyone is the master of his or her convictions,” he said.
“But I firmly believe that opposing an extreme ideology that advocates hatred and discrimination goes beyond taking any kind of political stance,” he added.
Squeezie’s message came as Marine Le Pen, RN’s de facto leader, celebrated what she termed the erosion of the “cordon sanitaire” — the practice of political isolation of the hard-right. Le Pen has formed alliances with other parties for the upcoming French elections.
Squeezie has a strong follower among people under 30 in the country. He is regarded by peers as the first true YouTube star in France. His influence reaches beyond YouTube – he has a production company and he released on Prime Video a documentary in January 2024 called Thank You Internet documenting his rise to fame.
In the European Parliament elections of June 6-9, RN President Jordan Bardella put on a strong showing among the youth, demonstrating what many see as the growing appeal of the hard-right.
Europe’s hard-right is becoming increasingly popular amongst younger voters, polling surrounding the EU elections has shown.https://t.co/z8hopK0bTj
— Brussels Signal (@brusselssignal) June 14, 2024
