Current political trends in France: a study through meme culture

Aim is to analyze the influence of memes, as a new and promising means of communication, on the perception of political processes in France, their mechanisms of reflection and formation of public opinion about political events and personalities, as well as their role in political and professional diplomatic discourse. Methodology. A comprehensive methodological approach was used, including quantitative and qualitative content analysis of the visual and textual components of memes collected from the popular social network Instagram1 for the period from December 1, 2024 to January 7, 2025, which allowed us to identify key trends and motives that hinder or promote political engagement. Considerable attention was paid to critically analysing the context of memes’ creation and dissemination, which contributed to a deeper understanding of their impact on political discourse. Results. The analysis confirmed that memes play a multifaceted role in political and professional diplomatic communication, in the formation and dissemination of political narratives in the open digital space, serving not only as a means of sarcasm and satire, but also as a tool for active civic participation. Research implications. The study reveals our understanding of the impact of digital technologies on the language and culture of political communication, political discourse, and professional diplomatic discourse. The results of this analysis can be used in practical French language classes.