Reversal and Reproduction. The Uses of Sexual Issues in Alain Juppé’s Municipal Campaign (2013-2014)

This paper focuses on the uses of sexual issues in the context of the municipal campaign of Alain Juppé (2013-2014). He leads a list composed of right and center parties, prone to be divided by these conflictual topics. Fieldwork does not evidence the avoidance of these sexual issues. On the contrary, Juppé’s political team puts forward and reframes these supposedly ‘leftist’ themes. In particular, these sexual issues are integrated within a consensual municipal policy. Due to his personal dispositions and to the political situation, Juppé is allowed to use these sexual issues to revive his municipal political enterprise through the renovation of Chabanist and Gaullist themes and the development of his liberal program. Beyond this local political configuration, this study sheds light on the preparation of a presidential role-taking based on a mayoral experience.