Popular tribunate or bourgeois populism? #saccageparis and social media’s radical-democratic paradox
Year: 2026
Type: article
Abstract: This article argues that the case of an idiosyncratic digital movement in Paris—#saccageparis—has much to contribute to recent debates around social media’s democratic potential. #saccageparis leaders paint themselves as contemporary tribunes of the plebs, a permanent counter-power representing the “small people” of Paris against the municipality. Based on ethnographic fieldwork, I examine in this article such claim. On the one hand, Twitter’s affordances enabled ordinary citizens to gain some of the attributes of a popular tribunate standing up to power while, on the other hand, the movement only gained this foothold because it was not itself popular. #saccageparis’s composition therefore contradicts its tactics, and the movement is best described as “bourgeois populism.” This case shows us how social media’s populist affordances can be exploited by elites and, as a result, offers precious insights for those interested in rescuing social media’s radical-democratic possibilities from elite capture.
Source: Political Studies
Author: Antoine Sander
Institution: University of Cambridge
Language: English
Topic: Social Media and Politics
Subfield: Communication
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: hybrid
Estimated APC paid: $3,650
OpenAlex ID: W7203683081