In an “open letter” published on Instagram on Friday, the video director declared that “voting for a party that promotes hatred, discrimination and fear of others has never been a solution, and never will be”

An unusual stance for France’s second-largest youtuber. In a long message published on Instagram on Friday 14 June, video artist Squeezie called on his subscribers to mobilise against the Rassemblement National in the early parliamentary elections on 30 June and 7 July.

In this “open letter” addressed “to all young people” on a network where he is followed by 8.7 million people, he recalls the far-right party’s past and asserts that “voting for a party that advocates hatred, discrimination and fear of others has never been a solution, and never will be”.

“I never wanted to talk to you about politics or get involved in party politics, because everyone is the master of their own convictions and I don’t want mine to influence yours”, writes the man who has 19 million subscribers on YouTube. “Whether you vote left, right or centre is up to you and your ideas. He added: “But I think that firmly opposing an extreme ideology that advocates hatred and discrimination goes beyond taking any kind of political stance.”

Jordan Bardella criticises influencer engagement

Jordan Bardella’s response was not long in coming. Also on Instagram, the president of the Rassemblement National was keen to “set the record straight”, criticising the “multimillionaires who answer to the very noble profession of influencers [who] commit themselves ‘apolitically’ against millions of French people.”

“In France, we are witnessing the rise of a dangerous extreme left”, wrote the RN candidate for the post of Prime Minister, before listing some of the measures in his party’s programme, notably in favour of purchasing power. He also puts forward some hypotheses to explain Squeezie’s stance, attributing it to his possible resentment at “being passed over by Tibo InShape”, who became France’s number one youtuber in May.