Unknown to the general public, the new Paris advisor Alice Coffin, elected this year under the EELV label, at 42, has definitely come out of the shadows by leading a crusade against Christophe Girard.
The latter, deputy in charge of culture to Anne Hidalgo, had been forced to resign because he was very close to the writer Gabriel Matzneff, targeted by an investigation for “rape of minors”.
Subsequently, Christophe Girard will be accused of sexual abuse.
After studying philosophy and political science, Alice Coffin, a graduate of the Journalists' Training Center (CFJ), in 2004, began her career as a journalist at "20 Minutes".
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She co-founded the Association of LGBT Journalists in 2013 and is an activist in several feminist associations, notably La Barbe, co-founded by her former partner Alix Béranger.
If she speaks in a soft voice, without aggressiveness, she defends her ideas with passion, while carefully weighing her words to avoid adding fuel to the fire.
His work “Le genie lesbien” (Grasset, 240 pages, 19 euros) published on September 30 has already sold 9000 copies.
Unknown to the general public a few months ago, you are omnipresent in the media.
What has this notoriety changed in your personal life?
I suffered waves of cyberbullying when I was active in La Barbe, but the flow of attacks has been much stronger since I was elected.
My parents and my partner are terrified.
I myself did not expect such violence.
Elected environmentalists and LGBT circles, which I am close to, have also received death threats targeting me.
I am very shocked that Parisian elected officials, like Paul Hatte, adviser to the Paris 17th arrondissement, have been able to help fuel this hatred through their tweets while the elected officials themselves are the target of violence.
But I resigned myself not to respond to the accusations so as not to amplify this surge and I limit my interventions, in particular on Twitter.
Are you still under police protection?
The device is reactivated every time I participate in a public event.
But in recent weeks, I was isolated at home because I had the Covid.
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The Catholic Institute of Paris, where you have been teaching journalism since 2012, did not renew your contract at the start of the school year.
Do you dispute this decision?
The attacks on my fight do not reach me.
But this rector's decision affected me deeply.
I learned about it the day of the return meeting.
I collapsed.
I invested a lot in this position and this source of income was important not to depend only on my elected officials' allowances.
I do not understand this decision.
My activism was known to the institute from the start.
I entered the labor courts.
Now that you are elected, what cause will you put your notoriety in the service of?
I will continue to lead my feminist fight.
At the town hall of the 12th district where I am responsible for gender equality and the fight against discrimination.
At the town hall of Paris, I sit on the culture committee and I will fight for the subsidies to be allocated according to the number of women represented on the boards of directors or management and also in the programming.
Sexist discrimination is also exercised in the field of culture and is more complicated to fight because of denial.
In the longer term, the objective is to obtain a gender budget as in Lyon.
In "The Lesbian Genius", you write: "I no longer read men's books, I no longer watch their films, I no longer listen to their music.
At least I try ”.
Do you only apply this in the private sphere?
There is a deliberate distortion of my words.
In my book, I cite a large number of authors who have been helpful in my training.
But today, I try to eliminate from my mind and my imagination the masculine universe which, for me, as a woman and a lesbian, is not very fulfilling.
Anne Hidalgo calls herself a feminist.
Do you think it is?
Yes, she is a feminist.
But then, why did she attack me when Christophe Girard announced his resignation?
One of the rules of feminism is never to shoot another woman.
I also do not understand why she criticized my feminism by arrogating to herself universalism.
Have you explained yourself since the Christophe Girard episode?
What happened between Christophe Girard and Anne Hidalgo is incomprehensible.
I do not understand that she did not listen to us feminist activists who sound the alarm instead of trusting men of power.
I sent him my book and I told him in the dedication that it was important that we talk to each other.
I haven't gotten an answer yet.
But I know she was touched by my walk.
Did you know Aniss Hmaïd, the man who accuses Christophe Girard of having raped him when he was a minor?
I did not know of his existence and did not know that he was participating in the demonstration organized on the forecourt of the Town Hall
(Editor's note: to request his resignation from Christophe Girard)
.
I am new to politics.
I knew very little about Christophe Girard.
I forged my conviction on the basis of articles in the "New York Times" alone.
During the ovation of the Council of Paris for Christophe Girard, last July, following the intervention of the prefect, you shouted “Shame”.
Have you been cropped?
I was not under pressure.
Environmentalists supported me and I received sympathetic advice on how to play politics.
Are you going to stop your word?
What happened with Christophe Girard shows that we must maintain our voice in politics.
I am not bound by anything.
I am not a member of Europe Ecologie-les Verts and am not running for a post in future elections.
If I want to go, I go.
I didn't want to be a candidate at the start.
I was pushed there by my entourage.
I am very happy with this choice.
We have real efficiency when we are elected, when we are both inside and outside.
Are you going to continue your activist struggle?
Of course, I will continue with the goal of blowing up the patriarchy, even if it is not for tomorrow.
What do you propose to fight against street harassment, especially in the Chapel?
It is a worldwide phenomenon linked to the culture of rape.
There is no single answer, but we have to start by encouraging residents to react.
When at the town hall of Paris, she must take a firm stand against this phenomenon.
Do some street names in the capital or plaques shock you?
And do you want to see them renamed?
Yes.
In the 12th district, a street bears the name of Dugommier, a slave owner, and a street that of Faidherbe, a general known to have committed abuses during colonization.
We should discuss these names with experts and why not rename the streets.
We have better things to do than praise bloodthirsty heroes.
Some have criticized you for not taking sides with Mila, this young lesbian threatened with death on social networks after criticizing Islam?
What do you answer them?
I am revolted that I can be reproached for having read my book.
I recently organized a tribute for Sarah Hegazi, this young Egyptian activist who committed suicide.
I work with militant groups and lesbians around the world facing religious extremism and the far right in their country.
“The lesbian genius” by Alice Coffin, Grasset, 240 pages, 19 euros.
