Study: Has the French far right already colonised Bluesky?

Until now, far-right players have had a reputation for being particularly proactive in taking over social networks and tirelessly combing them. It would seem that Bluesky is an exception. One of the main lessons to be learnt about the presence of the French far right on Bluesky is the virtual absence of the leading lights and figureheads of this political movement.

Whether it's the Rassemblement National, Reconquête or micro-parties like Nicolas Dupont-Aignan's Debout la France or François Asselineau's UDR, there's hardly anyone there.

In January 2025, the Arcadie project, a website founded in 2015 which compiles data on French MPs, counted 5 RN MPs with an account on Bluesky, while no senators or MEPs were present.

We've seen a few changes, but nothing that points to a proactive implementation strategy on the network founded by Jack Dorsey.

The accounts of MPs Sébastien Chenu, Jean-Philippe Tanguy and Anthony Boulogne have already disappeared. Those of Jordan Bardella and Marine Le Pen are listed as "suspended accounts"!

Only Jorys Bovet (49 subscribers) and Yoann Gillet (60 subscribers) are still in the field, with engagement rates approaching zero. On the other hand, a newcomer entered the fray in mid-January 2025: Matthieu Valet, a former police trade unionist who became an MEP in June 2024 and has 1 post and 80 subscribers to his name.

Very little proactivity from the French far right

You'd have thought that the other extreme right-wing groups would have flocked to Bluesky like they did to X, Instagram, TikTok and so on. But nothing of the sort happened. The only one to have launched a beachhead is ex-RN Florian Philippot (118 subscribers, 3 posts and radio silence for a month) and the Paris branch of his party Les Patriotes (63 subscribers, 405 posts but nothing for ... 9 months). Disappointment at the lack of return? Even Pierre Sautarel, author of the well-known ultra-radical press review FdeSouche, threw in the towel 10 months ago after 67 posts and 142 subscribers.

Our analyses counted just over 8,000 profiles with clearly stated far-right leanings. Except that in the vast majority of cases, these are just a handful of very small accounts with no real weight or influence. With the possible exception of Marc Vanguard, an anonymous profile who presents himself as a data analyst with a passion for crime and immigration figures, which he constantly correlates to justify his very strong opinions. Although he has nowhere near the scores recorded elsewhere on X and Instagram, he has a handful of 317 aficionados. But on Bluesky, the far right is still light years ahead of the massive digital commandos that are rampant elsewhere.

Bluesky without interest?

Is this weakness of the troops due to the major exile that a number of left-wing and far-left political players have undergone in recent weeks? In any case, the Arcadie project notes that La France Insoumise and the Greens have arrived on Bluesky in force, with over 83% of their MPs now present on Bluesky. Will we then see a kind of schism where X will be the preserve of the influence of the hard right while Bluesky will be the consecrated network for the votes of the radical left?

While it's surprising that the far-right has chosen to abandon Bluesky to their best enemies, there are a number of reasons for this reluctance. Aside from the simple monitoring that is currently being carried out by extremist right-wingers on woke & co content, Bluesky does not currently offer two features that have enabled certain extreme right-wing agents to emerge powerfully on X: no 'trending topic' to try to percolate a divisive subject into the discussions and no algorithm sensitive to the surge of likes on a post. In other words, it's more complicated to gain an audience on Bluesky, which is still a modest network in terms of influence.

Towards fixed positions?

For those on the far right, it's all about keeping an eye on their opponents' accounts, whether they're journalists, influencers or politicians. This is reflected in their centres of interest on Bluesky. The maps show that many of these profiles assiduously follow the mainstream media, but also major political opponents, important voices in the left-wing intelligentsia and scientific experts. It's a posture that echoes the one long used on X, which consists of closely following everything that is said in the opposing camp so as to be ready, if need be, to bounce back, attack and create the controversy that will then polarise and agglomerate digital communities.

At the moment, the far right doesn't have much of a strike force on Bluesky. However, it's quite possible that if the context changes, especially if Bluesky continues to attract a significant number of users, we could see a significant and determined invasion. Like an identity account like AuBonTouiteFrançais, which has had a foothold on Bluesky for the past 2 months. The least we can say is that he's clearly showing his colours: "Hello blueskyeux. I'm going to come over here and fuck my shit up, to meet up with my fact-checking friends who've fled like a bunch of X craps. See you soon. Love you. All the best ...