Jean-Luc Mélenchon returned to the fray. On Saturday, September 7, in Paris, the leader of La France Insoumise (LFI), took to the streets to protest against the appointment of Michel Barnier as prime minister. He was accompanied by senior party members Mathilde Panot and Manon Aubry, as well as many activist supporters – or some of them. According to LFI, 160,000 people demonstrated in the capital that day. However, the police counted a mere 26,000.
For the occasion, as for many other demonstrations, Mélenchon wore one of the more remarkable items to be found in a contemporary French politician's wardrobe. In this instance, it was a three-quarter length black leather worker's jacket, which was no doubt purchased at great expense in the early 1980s from a boutique proudly specializing in leathers and furs of all kinds. It's an item of clothing that could do with a good rub down with Saphir leather balm. Visible all-over weathering clearly indicated the hide's advanced dehydration.
Mélenchon sported a deeply meaningful tricolor rosette on the lapel of his leather jacket. Symbolic of the French Republic, the rosette first appeared during the French revolution on the initiative of the journalist Camille Desmoulins. It has changed color several times since its creation. It started out green, but shortly after, it became red, white and blue. Under the Empire between 1804 and 1815, it was white, red and blue. It eventually reverted back to red, white and blue as worn by the LFI leader.
Seen standing behind Mélenchon, Panot, the MP for the 10th constituency of Val-de-Marne, southeast of Paris, and president of the LFI group at the Assemblée Nationale, also wore the country's colors, with pride and precision. The way the French tricolor sash is worn by MPs is strictly regulated. Mayors are legally required to wear it so that the blue is closest to their face, while MPs must wear it with the red closest to the face, as can be seen here.
Some of the symbols in the photograph are more subtle. In the background, among the mass of supporters, three different types of headgear are visible: On the left, a fedora-type straw hat with a black grosgrain ribbon; on the right, a flat red cap embellished with various badges. In the center, the beige cap is more interesting – the classic American M1951 field cap, characterized by its short visor and flat crown. The stiffened version of the field cap was made famous by Fidel Castro (1926-2016), who wore it for many years.
Translation of an original article published in French on lemonde.fr; the publisher may only be liable for the French version.