Cops are made fun of in suits and ties, and it’s more annoying than fun

As the planet burns and drowns at the same time depending on the location, MEPs continue to chain political deviations. Rather than acting for the climate emergency, the constitutionalization of abortion, an end to the mutilation of intersex children, or the fight against sexist and sexual violence, some prefer to discuss and legislate on the clothing required in the National Assembly … This affects only 577 people (215 women (37.3%) and 362 men), yet it already monopolizes some of the political and media attention.

On 21 July 2022, the deputy of the Alpes Maritimes Eric Ciotti (Les Républicains) tweeted a letter addressed to the president of the National Assembly. He claims ” the obligation to wear a tie inside the hemicycle of the Palais Bourbon for to prevent some deputies, in particular from France Insoumise, from allowing themselves to wear increasingly loose clothing. »:

“This question is far from trivial. Wear a men’s jacket and tie, beyond the necessary sign of due respect [sic] to our institutions and our compatriots, it allows us to visually unify national representation and reorient debates on what really matters: mutual arguments. “

The right-wing parliamentarian therefore wants a more rigid rewrite article 9 of the general instruction of the office. This states that ” the clothing adopted by MEPs in the hemicycle must remain neutral and be similar to work clothing. “

However, in the city, not all men go around every day in a suit and tie for work or pleasure. This is one of the reasons why Seine-Saint-Denis MP Alexis Corbière (La France Insoumise – Nupes) replied on 22 July 2022:

“First of all, we would like to underline that Mr Ciotti’s recommendations are anachronistic. They might apply to an all-male chamber, but, with all due respect, the Assembly now has a significant percentage of women and that’s lucky. Making clothing recommendations for men only reinforces the idea that women are intruders into politics.

In 2022, let’s face it, wearing a tie is no longer a common “city suit”. On the contrary, it is the clothing brand of a very particular social category, generally the wealthiest men. […] For the sake of parliamentary work and its perception in society, is it relevant to ask parliamentarians to stand out and adopt the dress codes of a social minority? We don’t think so. “

Alexis Corbière continues his letter co-signed by Mathilde Panot (President of the La France Insoumise group) addressed to the president of the AN recalling the origin of the suit and tie of the hemicycle: obligations imposed by the royal power in 1789 A tradition disputed at least since 1889 This is what leads LFI representatives to conclude:

“A popular adage says that“ it is not the habit that makes the monk ”. Not even clothes are the deputy. And too often in the past it has even alienated it from the People. This is the real “slowdown” that seriously damages the image of the National Assembly. “

And just in case that wasn’t enough, Val de Marne MP Louis Boyard (Nupes) added a layer on the same day. In turn, he wrote a letter to the president of the National Assembly Yaël Braun-Pivet (deputy of Yvelines) to protest against the fact that some deputies wear suits and ties that are worth more than a minimum wage: “ In this case, it isa form of dress and behavioral arrogance of an increasing number of MPs, especially at LREM, LR and RN. “In hollow, we can also understand that it suggests a ban on wearing suits and ties in excess of the price of a minimum wage.

In short, the fact that so many men wear out talking in the National Assembly reminds us how much the dress has a political importance, on the one hand. But also how much women are also excluded from this kind of debate, despite being among the first to be repressed more violently because of their clothing considered incorrect without precise criteria. The one that MP Marie-Charlotte Garin remembered well wearing in 2022 the famous harmless dress by Cécile Duflot which, however, had the effect of a sexism bomb at the National Assembly in 2012.

Photo credits on the front page: Twitter profile photo of Eric Ciotti, Alexis Corbière and Louis Boyard.