Étienne Chouard
Étienne Chouard is a French high school teacher, blogger, and controversial political activist. During the 2005 French referendum campaign on the European Constitution he gained public attention by advocating against it, notably for his discussion with Dominique Strauss-Kahn.
Since then Chouard – who defines himself as a "seeker of the original cause of social injustices" – has been working on different democratic systems and constitutions. He is a supporter of the idea of sortition which could also be applied to constitutional conventions. In 2013, Chouard wrote and put on a play entitled "Debt Explained to My Banker".
In 2018–2019, during the Yellow vests movement, Chouard was frequently mentioned at the roundabouts and became a genuine thought leader for many yellow vests. This increasing popularity led to a re-examination of his long advocacy for direct democracy, and also of positive statements he had made about several right-wing conspiracy theorists, such as Alain Soral, Antony Sutton, Jacques Cheminade, Eustace Mullins, or Thierry Meyssan, and the relationship he has maintained with them.
