Decentralises / Memes Decentralises

About

Memes Décentralisés or @Decentralises is a French-language meme page run across several social media platforms that focuses on daily life in rural France. It is one of the most prominent and recognized French-language meme pages, having been written up and covered in news outlets ranging from Le Monde to Vanity Fair. The page is credited as the origin of several influential French meme formats, such as "La Fille Du Boulanger" (the baker's daughter).

History

On June 18th, 2018, as recounted in an interview with the French newspaper Ouest-France, Harald Lenud-Pilc and Gabriel Kaikati created a Facebook page called "Memes décentralisés pour provinciaux et francophones oubliés" (Decentralized Memes for Provincials and Forgotten French Speakers) in response to a growing trend of meme pages that found success making memes about life in Paris.^[1] The meme page rapidly gained a following, with 18,000 people following it within a month of its creation.

In June 2022, the Facebook page has accumulated over 162,775 followers.^[2] In October 2018, Memes Décentralisés then launched its Instagram and Twitter pages. By June 2022, the Instagram page had garnered over 368,000 followers,^[3] and the Twitter account had over 215,000 followers.^[4]

Memes Décentralisés also runs a boutique selling merchandise and organizing events across France to promote regional cultures.^[5]

The meme page was legally organized as a nonprofit association in July 2019, run by Gabriel Kaitaki and André Da Silva.^[6] During the coronavirus pandemic in France, the meme page and the community around it created an online platform called commentaider.fr ("how to help" in English) in order to coordinate charitable giving to organizations supporting the houseless and other disadvantaged groups during the pandemic.^[7]

Post-pandemic, Memes Décentralisés has organized gatherings and meet-ups around France to celebrate regional cultures and cuisines. The admins of the page also run tournaments, notably on the Instagram account, that ask followers to rank foods, monuments and Départements of France.^[8]

Highlights

Related Memes

La Fille Du Boulanger

Memes Décentralisés is credited with popularizing a French meme character named "La fille du boulanger" ("the baker's daughter," in English). La fille du boulanger is an archetypical "girl next door," and most memes involving her feature nostalgic memories of small-town life and an appreciation for French bread.

Search Interest

External References