How the computer wrote the Macron nomination speech

“Dear citizens, the profound transformations that I wished for in 2017 changed France and Europe. Now needs to be strengthened so that the reconstruction now being carried out bears fruit for the benefit of all. I have heard your fears, and sometimes your anger, and I share with you your impatience. With these words an announcement begins. Emmanuel Macron’s candidacy for the presidential elections … in 2022! He has not delivered the speech yet, nor has it been written, of course.

In his work Macron or the secret of the act. Deciphering his speeches by machine (Éditions de l’Aube), to be published this week, CNRS researcher Damon Mayver used an AI algorithm that “automatically” produced the speech in which the outgoing president would announce his candidacy for re-election.

Historian and linguist, Damon Mayver, a specialist in computer-aided speech analysis, participated in the delicate speeches of the head of state. Compare systematically with all of his competitors in 2017. But also with all of his predecessors, since Charles de Gaulle. Enlightenment: This is how we discover Macron, more inspired by the lexicon of Chirac, Sarkozy and the Netherlands than de Gaulle and Giscard. Even if each of these presidents had inspired him in one way or another: the bought position of the general, the erudition of Pompidou, the technocratic side of Giscard, the vanity of Mitterrand, the consensual will of Chirac …

“Macron’s former machine”

From this “former Macron machine,” as he put it, Damon Mayafer draws a number of lessons about the presidential rhetoric. Macron wrote, “Sometimes he speaks without saying anything during the election campaign as he hides the content of his program, and sometimes he says things that do nothing when it comes to gaining political time during the great controversy and the yellow jackets crisis.” It notes the repetition of the lexical record associated with the movement: “to change,” “transform,” “move,” and “renew”. Exploitation words with the “-tion” suffix, such as “re-establish”, “create”, “edit.” Or, on the contrary, naming opponents with terms that end with “-ism”: “populism”, “conservatism”, “stagnation.”

Also read – survey. 6 in 10 French say they are sure they will vote in the 2022 presidential election

Therefore, against all these matters, Macron will again declare himself a candidate, according to artificial intelligence: “In the face of nationalists, populism and the temptation to withdraw, which means nothing but standing still, I want to embody the choice of hope and progress. And reconciliation. Here is what justifies the representation of itself: “This is why I invite you to go ahead with my candidacy, because I want work and innovation to finally be rewarded with a fair wage, and at the same time they will ensure that their efforts are compensated for the retirees.”

Instead of the outgoing president, the computer concludes: “Have confidence. I know you will choose the future, and you will prefer solidarity over selfishness, progress toward setbacks, science over obscurantism, and arranging chaos.” We think so.

This is the document to read in full: