Pierre-André Taguieff is a philosopher and historian of ideas, director of research at the CNRS, and the author of an abundant body of work*. When, how and why did the concept of “Jew-capitalism” come into being? This figure of the main enemy of revolutionaries – socialists, anarchists, communists – is at the heart of the first form of modern Judeophobia on the left. From Charles Fourier to Karl Marx, the amalgam between Jews and “speculators”, “international bankers” or “international finance” remains the founding act of anti-Semitic hatred in the political field in the aftermath of the French Revolution.
The rapper Médine, who has been accused of anti-Semitism, was the guest of honour at summer conference of ‘‘Europe Ecologie Les Verts (EELV) and ‘‘La France Insoumise’’ (LFI). An invitation that speaks volumes about the state of intellectual and moral decay of the French radical left.
Social networks have certainly facilitated communication and the sharing of information between young people living on housing estates during the latest outbreak of violence. Hence the rapid spread of acts of destruction and looting throughout France. But Nahel’s death was merely a pretext for settling scores with French society, which is accused of being responsible for all the ills suffered by young people of immigrant origin. Hate messages against the host society had already been circulating on the web for a long time. And on Facebook, Telegram, TikTok and Twitter, Islamists and other extremist groups are working day and night to use these networks of discord for propaganda and recruitment purposes, or to incite minors and young adults to smash, loot and set fire to all the symbols of the Republic.
