What is a “barbouzerie”, this word from the Algerian war used by Jordan Bardella?

A word from another time appears (again) in the presidential campaign. Targeted by a Mediapart investigation for anti-Semitic remarks, Jordan Bardella described the affair as a “barbouzerie operation”. A term that we hear relatively often, but does everyone understand its meaning?

To provide context: Mediapart published private conversations on Monday dating from the summer of 2013, which the site claims to have authenticated. Jordan Bardella, then aged 17-18 and a young National Front activist, made anti-Semitic comments there. The president of the RN “formally” denies being the author, denounces “gross falsehoods” and announced the filing of a defamation complaint by his lawyer.

Let's start again in order. The word comes from “beard”. It is first of all slang, used at the beginning of the 20th century to designate the beard, in a rather pejorative way. But its current meaning dates from the Algerian War. The barbouzes were Gaullist activists or sympathizers responsible for fighting against the OAS with methods that neither the police, the army, nor the secret services could officially use, such as torture. They acted in a semi-clandestine manner, “in false beards”, hence their nickname.

The term became popular after an article at the time published in France-Soir, on December 2, 1961, titled “The barbouzes are arriving”. By extension, the word began to designate any secret agent, often disreputable. A use aided by the success of the film Les Barbouzes (1964), a parody of spy films. Then, by extension, any secret betrayal or abuse of power by unofficial actors. As for “barbouzerie”, it logically designates the activity of barbouzes, or the result of their action.

From the escape of Carlos Ghosn from Japan to the stolen videos of journalists Patrick Cohen and Thomas Legrand, including the Benalla affair or that of sex tape blackmail in Saint-Etienne, the term has often been used by the press or those involved. During the 2017 presidential campaign, François Fillon had repeatedly accused the “black cabinet” of the Élysée, then occupied by François Hollande, of being at the origin of the numerous affairs which undermined his candidacy. The expression “barbouze methods” was used on September 3, 2021 by Me Antonin Levy.

In the mouth of the RN, the word is obviously not literal. Nobody accuses Mediapart of employing spies with false beards. He suggests that this affair is an underground maneuver, orchestrated in the shadows to cause harm, with documents supposedly fabricated, or possibly provided by people from the RN ready to betray Jordan Bardella. It is not an isolated word: Marine Le Pen had used it the day before, referring to a “manipulation” and a “barbouzerie that Mediapart is accustomed to”.