How to win the battle of stories?

« A national narrative is not a convenient legend intended to mask the complexity of reality. It must be a lucid way of confronting it, saying what we have been, of understanding what we are, of choosing together what we want to become, the story we want to write. »It is with these words that Jean-Noël Barrot, Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs (MEAE), opened, Thursday May 7 at the Gaïté lyrique, the day devoted to the battle of stories. This event, organized by the MEAE and joined by the Defense Innovation Agency, aimed to launch cycle 2 of the “Fight against information manipulation” workshops. On this occasion, the minister announced the creation of a diplomatic reserve dedicated to information warfare and made up of several dozen agents experienced on the subject. Because the stakes are high.

Countering offensive competitors

Beyond the return of war in Europe, it is a battle of words which is being played out in parallel for States and people. These latter “ question their past, their wounds, their greatness, their faults, their struggles. They write their history so as not to be condemned to endure it», poursuit Jean-Noël Barrot. Là est le nerf de la guerre : ne pas laisser nos compétiteurs (Russie, Chine, Iran…) imposer leurs propres récits partout dans le monde, investir les cycles électoraux et instrumentaliser les drames nationaux.                                              

Thus, recalls the minister, France must oppose both “ vision based on the confrontation of civilizations, a story in which Russia would be a bulwark to resist Western chaos» and à la vision américaine «missionary » who, depuis 2025, is fondée sur «Âreactionary values“. However, these stories do not just promote a vision of the world. “They also convey hostile messages towards us to obtain geopolitical gains.», insist-t-il.Â

Stories, history or narrative?

To win this narrative battle, we still need to know what words to use and what strategies to adopt in the face of these large-scale information campaigns which combine manipulation of information and misappropriation of facts. For researcher Paul Charon, director of the Influence and intelligence field at the Strategic Research Institute of the Military School (IRSEM), it is essential to impose the term in the public field “narrative” instead of the words “story” and “narrative” which are most often used. History reveals the facts “ as they actually happen, as they sequence chronologically» ; the narration met « emphasis on the enunciative instance: who speaks, to whom, in what situation, in what context » ; he told him, as for him, it is the ordering and making sense of these events. We will play on the selection of these events, the order in which we present them, the rhythm, the point of view…“, he specifies. Journalist Elena Volochine deciphers these mechanisms in her book Propaganda, Vladimir Putin’s weapon of war. Opposed, at the end of this story disseminated by the Kremlin, is a supposed and necessary struggle by Russia against “Ukrainian Nazis” who would, for example, be likely to come and massacre the Russian-speaking inhabitants of Crimea.

Affirm solid patterns

In this informational battle, states must be able to master the “architext” of a story, made up of deep and fundamental narrative patterns that guide our interpretations. According to Paul Charon, China is a relevant example. The latter in fact uses the architext of the fall and redemption to promote its “national rebirth” after having been “humiliated” by the Western powers.

Mastering the narrative patterns of the adversaries is essential to proposing a solid response. This involves mobilizing not only institutional actors but also civil society, researchers, journalists and businesses, to promote the democratic model.

Our survival is at stake because, as the minister declared, “without a story, we are at the mercy of others. Without words, without images, without projection, the present becomes empty and little by little, generation after generation, a nation loses its cultural identity. ”.