The Journal of Political Ideologies has recently published an article written by Dr Salomé Ietter.

The article, entitled ‘Back to Class? The populism of the ‘Gilets jaunes’’, makes an original contribution on the links between populism, class, and anti-populism.

The article looks at populism – a political movement where ordinary people challenge those in power – through the ideas of two thinkers, Ernesto Laclau and Nicos Poulantzas. It suggests that populism is not just about people being angry, but also about revealing contemporary forms of class struggle and economic exploitation. At the same time, ‘anti-populism’ – efforts to discredit these movements – tries to cover up the economic aspect of populist contestation, preferring to redirect people’s anger toward immigration, for example.

Dr Ietter builds on Michael Bray’s view that populism is a ‘symptom’ that shows something deeper than what is generally understood through populism – namely, the unfair power structures of capitalist societies. She makes the argument that these structures both shape populist movements and are simultaneously exposed by them.

This is illustrated by the case of the Gilets jaunes (Yellow Vests) protests in France from 2018 to 2019, which highlighted unfair economic policies and inequalities, shedding light over hidden power imbalances. At the same time, the government and the media downplayed the protests in order to maintain the status quo. Dr Ietter’s article raises that this reflects Poulantzas’ idea that capitalist systems stay strong by dividing people, isolating people, and separating mental from manual labour - all key mechanisms for ensuring the reproduction of the capitalist state.

The article is available open access at: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/13569317.2025.2449868

To cite:

Ietter, S. (2025). Back to class? The populism of the ‘Gilets jaunes.’ Journal of Political Ideologies, 1–20. https://doi.org/10.1080/13569317.2025.2449868

Image of Emmanuel Macron wearing a yellow vest (Whirlpool, October 2017)

Credits : Philippe Wojazer/Pool/AFP