Une analyse du discours des allocutions d'Emmanuel Macron dans la lutte contre l'épidémie de Covid-19 : contenu, argumentation et réception

Details

Supervisors

Sandrine Reboul-Touré

Faculty

Faculté de philosophie, arts et lettres

Degree label

Master [120] en langues et lettres françaises et romanes, orientation français langue étrangère, à finalité approfondie

Abstract

Speeches are an opportunity for a head of state to communicate their orientations to their people, and at the same time to build a positive image of oneself (ethos) or to repair an already degraded image by resorting to various discursive strategies. This thesis analyzes four televised speeches by Emanuel Macron during the "first wave" of the coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic, which has shook the world since the 2020. To conduct a comprehensive analysis, we approach the corpus from three perspectives: content, argumentation, and reception. Through a thematic analysis, we identify recurring themes in these speeches, which helps to formulate a conclusion that the "Covid speech" constitutes a genre of discourse. Drawing primarily on Ruth Amossy's theory of argumentation, we analyze Macron's discursive ethos as well as other discursive strategies he deploys to better influence his audience. As for the question of reception, we choose two very different groups of people: French users of the website YouTube, and Chinese students who study in France. We find that the attention paid to the "Covid speech" decreases as time goes by for both groups. The first two speeches are rather convincing for French internet users, however, the last two speeches are highly contested by them. These speeches contribute to a slight improvement of Macron's image among Chinese students in France.