“Tyrants are only great because we are on our knees”.
This quote from Étienne de La Boétie is one of Jean-Luc Mélenchon's favorites.
And that's good, since the figurehead of La France insoumise - who arrived third in the first round of the presidential election on Sunday with 21.95% of the vote - must, according to our information, take the piloting from "this fall" of the Institute La Boétie, which will become a political foundation.
Created in September 2020, this structure is affiliated with France insoumise and serves as a think tank, even if its activity has been quite limited lately.
"The Institut La Boétie foreshadows what will be the foundation of insubordinate France: both a place of high-level intellectual development and a tool for popular education", one can read on its website.
Jean-Luc Mélenchon held a conference there last May on the 40th anniversary of François Mitterrand's victory.
The institute is headed by State Councilor Bernard Pignerol, an intimate of Mélenchon.
The deputy LFI Bastien Lachaud is the general delegate.
Read alsoPresidential: third in the first round, Jean-Luc Mélenchon leaves through the front door
This institute currently has the status of an endowment fund.
“The capital is being set up to reach 1.5 million euros, a condition for becoming, after a decree in the Council of State, a political foundation declared of public utility”, explains one of the architects of the project. .
It may in particular receive legacies.
Its premises are located in the 18th arrondissement of Paris.
The function will be voluntary for Jean-Luc Mélenchon.
"Radical Humanism"
The La Boétie Institute will swell the ranks of existing foundations: the Gabriel-Péri Foundation (close to the Communist Party), Jean-Jaurès (in the orbit of the Socialist Party) or the liberally inspired Montaigne Institute.
The La Boétie foundation will aim to “train activists, political executives, senior civil servants and to launch debates or international initiatives”, specifies a Mélenchonist.
His credo will be “radical humanism”.
The project had been maturing for several months, in particular to allow a fallback solution for the MP for Marseille, in the event of failure in the presidential election.
Aged 70, Jean-Luc Mélenchon hinted in his Sunday evening speech that he would end his active political career.
“He said it was his last presidential campaign.
I think he said it quite clearly, ”repeated Rebellious MP Adrien Quatennens on France Info on Monday morning.
“If Marine Le Pen won the presidential election, Jean-Luc Mélenchon could however postpone his project”, specifies a member of his entourage.
Which adds that in this case, he could run for a new term in the National Assembly "to lead the political battle".