It’s not “a toxic idea in the UK”. Fuck the fucking shitrag guardian. Paris is a city, the UK is a country (or 4 countries if you prefer) - so we could by comparing similar entities?
There is some political theatre around a tiny minority of swivel eyed loonies in London . That’s it .
Conservative propaganda is the reason… Next question
Maybe the American propaganda pushers don’t make French language versions
Russia did push a lot of propaganda and they probably still do, but France clamps down on it from time to time.
Members of the extreme right also follow each other online, so it’s not really possible to tell if a french translation of a replacement theory conspiracy meme was made by a Russian at the IRA, or by a genuine french incel.
Putin’s trolls also support the far right party of Le Pen and that party repays this support by voicing their support for Putin from time to time, similar to other extreme left/right parties in Europe. Getting Le Pen elected in France would be almost as big a coup for Putin as a re-election of Trump in the Usa: it would damage the eu, NATO, give Wagner free reign over the Sahel and stop french support for Ukraine. And unlike Trump, Le Pen is not an idiot, so she would be able to do a lot more damage in a lot less time. This all makes France a prime target for the Russian propaganda machine.
What France doesn’t have (yet), is a popular domestic far right media empire. There is a conservative family building up a similar misinformation empire as that of Murdoch, but they’re only getting started, so it’s nothing like in the UK or USA (yet): https://www.france24.com/en/france/20230711-france-s-murdoch-right-wing-media-swoop-threatens-pillar-of-french-democracy
This specific idea seems to be a mix of climate change denialism (they want us to stop driving) mixed with COVID time authoritarian scares (forced internment, stay at home etc) and while we know Russia has helped push parts of these ideas before or pushed this after I think this one really did originally come direct from the right wing American billionaire owned think tanks.
This specific idea caught on for some reason but they’ve been chucking out variations on this crap for years
I would also point out that Paris is the capital city. London pretty much already has the 15-minute city ideal. The tube network is world-leading in its technology and just how dense the network is.
I always reserve around 1h to go anywhere by tube. For places closer to me, 30-40min will do. Between walking to and from the stations, plus train wait times and walking between platforms for a change, the 15min idea is dead on arrival. Not to mention that this hour is filled with air, noise and visual pollution.
That said, I do have a small Saino’s about 10min from me, and a big Tesco 15-20min depending on how tired I am. If that counts as a 15min city, then you’re spot on.
For sure, it’s not perfect. But compared to the rest of the UK, you lot are pretty well off – generally there’s a pub and cafe within a short distance, and free access to most of the green spaces for exercise. Plus you’ve got plenty of buses.
It’s not perfect, but it’s pretty significantly better than my home in Bristol.
Right-wing nutjobs. The idea oozed out of russia, was picked up by the Brexit/Cambridge Analytica cabal/MAGA fascists/Qanon cultists and that’s where it comes from.
It was not ever based in any fact, reasoning, ideal, or true belief.
