By Sally Shakkour
French people woke up to confusing presidential candidate posters placed in various streets across the country. In the posters, people saw the current president Emmanuel Macron who is also a candidate in the 2022 elections covered in bruises after being beaten by the police. Macron is seen wearing the 'Yellow Vest' jacket which represents the movement of rage against economic justice and calls for political reforms.
The second poster shows the far-right wing candidate Marine Le Pen where she is seen wearing Hijab (headscarf). Le Pen is known for her anti-Islam remarks as she vowed to ban, fine women who wear Hijab in public places.
Andy Vermaut shares:French street artist Jaëraymie remixes presidential campaign posters: The Parisian street artist Jaëraymie, reimagines the history of the presidential candidates and modifies their electoral posters. https://t.co/XWPfAdu5Ch Thank you. pic.twitter.com/Xixwr1IPDN
— Andy Vermaut (@AndyVermaut) April 5, 2022
France has been under fire during the latest years for targeting Muslims and Hijabi females after banning wearing the headscarf in most parts of the country.
The French Senate voted in January to ban the wearing of the hijab and other "ostensible religious symbols" in sports competitions following a proposed amendment from Les Républicains, a right-wing party who argued that headscarves can risk the safety of athletes wearing them.
A portrait of French President Emmanuel Macron, wearing a yellow vest and a black eye: this is one of the new realisations of the street artist @jaeraymie.
— NoComment (@nocomment) April 6, 2022
Each work is accompanied by a fictional story-telling. But also real polemical quotes from the protagonist. #distorsions pic.twitter.com/dPUeu24bLI
The third poster shows a picture of Eric Zemmour in traditional Islamic cloth and a long beard and mustache as the candidate is predicted after converting to Islam.
In fact, all the photos are fake and were adjusted by the French talented artist Jaeraymie. He made and hung the posters on the streets of France before sharing them on his social media platforms and created new election campaigns and slogans for each candidate after reimagining their new versions.
The first round of France's presidential elections has kicked off today April 10th and two of the 12 candidates are set to compete in the second round of presidential elections that is scheduled for April 24th.
