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How an 80s punk lyric became the rallying cry of French protests against the far right

François Guillemot’s band, Bérurier Noir, wrote Porcherie in 1985. In the lead-up to a watershed election in France, its lyrics are making a comeback among the youth, politicians and celebrities alike

Young people are uploading clips of themselves singing it on TikTok, leftist MEP Manon Aubry has led chants of it at rallies, and actor Marion Cotillard has worn a badge with the slogan. When I became a punk as a 14-year-old, I wore shirts imprinted with pictures of Karl Marx, but also with swastikas and the Prussian iron cross: we were experimenting with anything that could shock the establishment and rejected all politics. Poster for the concert Géronimo: Dogs in Toulouse in 1985 At the presidential run-off in 2022, 49% of 25-34 year olds voted opted for Le Pen, compared to just over 41% of the general population and 29% of voters over 70.

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