Who Do Representatives of “Diversity” Represent?

Abstract

With the exception of the far right, every French political party nowadays claims it can do a better job of representing “diversity” in French society by increasing the number of “diversity” representatives. But why is the purported need for such “diversity” representation now deemed a matter of course in France? Is it a matter of winning over the voters whom these officials are supposed to represent? And which voters do they actually represent? Conversely, if these minority representatives are not meant to represent any particular category of voters, is it simply a matter of equal access to public office (and not of representation per se)? These questions are explored in the foregoing article. Given that “diversity” is a vague category – which, incidentally, largely explains its success – the article analyzes how French political parties and minority candidates make use of this buzzword and what meanings they ascribe to it. It goes on to point up the friction engendered by “diversity” politics in a system of representation based on traditional Republican principles that are inimical to minority representation.

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