Radio France Democrature by Diane Barbé

Isn’t France the country of democracy and human rights? Liberté, égalité, fraternité

… In a rigid governmental centered around an all-mighty President, however, things have been degrading rapidly: privatisation of natural and infrastructural resources, widening of income inequality gaps, polarisation of all national and regional news outlets in the hands of three billionaires, systemic ethnic and religious discrimination, violence against protesters all across the country. Deputees and political analysts have even called the country a democratorship –dictatorship disguised as a democracy.

Big statements with no substance! What does the social unrest of the Yellow Vests actually mean? How do social media, big headlines and short-attention-span online news sound like from abroad?

Radio France 

explores the way narratives become constructed from a puzzle of shattered information, creating potentially false associations and conclusions about the current situation in France. Using popular online sources published by the Yellow Vests and activist platforms, conventional journalistic coverage from French, British and US channels, as well as commentaries from relatives and acquaintances, the piece takes you through a confusing journey into the proximate past, which doesn’t belong yet to overarching historical explanations. Let’s embrace this trashed information space and comfort ourselves with sensational conclusions!

This piece, in the spirit of free journalism, will not cite its sources. Many thanks to all those who have helped, inspired, dazzled and confused the data collection process.

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This work was produced and presented as part of the “Experimental Radio Practice” seminar of the UdK Master’s program Sound Studies and Sonic Arts, which took place under the supervision of Lukas Grundmann at Cashmere Radio in summer 2019.