RevUE of Agnieszka Pasieka’s Simone Veil Talk proposed by Marc-Antoine Corneau

« A Tale of Two Simones: On Activism, Rights and the Right », march 20, 2025 with Agniezka Pasieka (Université de Montréal).

On March 26, 2025, the Jean Monnet Centre of Montreal hosted an event as part of the 2024–2025 Simone Veil Talks. For the occasion, Agnieszka Pasieka, a sociocultural anthropologist at the Université de Montréal, was invited to present her work from recent years. Her lecture was titled “A Tale of Two Simones: On Activism, Rights and the Right.”

The conference began with a presentation aimed at clearly distinguishing between Simone Weil, the French philosopher and activist, and Simone Veil, the French politician. Agnieszka Pasieka then introduced some of the key motivations found among people on the political right—namely: roots, rights and needs, and attention.

Her Research

Following this introduction, the speaker moved into the core of her presentation, outlining the research she had conducted over the past ten years. She explained that she had focused on right-wing movements and community aid organizations. She referred to two major projects in Italy, including one in the city of Palermo.

Her research sought to understand why people on the political right choose to help others. This is where the previously mentioned motivations came into play. She explained that the assistance provided by these groups was not necessarily driven by altruistic intentions.

First, she noted that this community aid was not extended to immigrants, but only to those considered “truly Italian.” This reflected a form of xenophobia, combined with a desire to reinforce national identity. This represents the “roots” motivation.

Second, by helping “only Italians,” the goal was to demonstrate that it is they who truly need help. According to Pasieka, these individuals sought to prove their point of view—that the government should prioritize support for the local population before welcoming new immigrants, as locals are seen as the ones most in need. This corresponds to the second motivation: rights and needs.

Third, according to the assistant professor in the Department of Anthropology at the Université de Montréal, there was also a desire among these right-wing activists to attract attention by providing aid. She explained that they wanted to be seen as doing good and as having a generous heart. However, she also noted that this was often a way of subtly justifying their xenophobia.

Finally, the lecture concluded with a Q&A session that allowed for clarification of certain points in the presentation. The event drew a solid turnout from the public.

Marc-Antoine Corneau.