“
Silence, consternation then explosion of anger
”.
Monday, December 26, more than a thousand rebellious activists and Nupes sign a forum in
Le Monde
, to denounce the decision of the movement to exclude only temporarily from its parliamentary group the deputy Adrien Quatennens, convicted of domestic violence.
Since the verdict of the trial and the decision of LFI, anger has been organized in the rebellious ranks and press releases from action groups have rained down on social networks, to express their refusal to see Adrien Quatennens return to the Assembly and to denounce the operation of the movement.
"
We, members of insubordinate France and Nupes demand the exclusion of Adrien Quatennens
", can we read in the forum.
"
We call on activists to insubordination
," they continue, denouncing a "
vertical system that favors the protection of senior executives at the expense of activists and programs
".
Read alsoOn the background of the Quatennens affair, the discontent is growing against Mélenchon
Suspended for four months from his group in the National Assembly in the wake of his conviction, at the beginning of December, to a four-month suspended prison sentence for "
violence
" on his wife, the deputy from the North had declared himself the victim of a "
media lynching
" and refused to resign.
Since the start of this affair, La France Insoumise (LFI), the party of Jean-Luc Mélenchon - who came third in the presidential election and of which Adrien Quatennens is one of the most loyal lieutenants - has been shaken by the turbulence.
“
We are asking for a fairer internal democracy where the representatives will be appointed and legitimized by the activists and not essentially by the circle restricted by the national office
”, write the signatories of the forum.
"
Apply your promises, act: yes, the private is political, no aggressor has its place in our parties, our organizations, our institutions, in our hemicycles
", urge the signatories.
A rise to the public and national niche that the initiators of this forum consider inevitable.
“
I have a lot of friends who get messages saying 'you'd better settle this internally'.
But we have already tried and it did not work
, ”regrets Gabin Plantet, signatory of the platform and member of the Young insoumis de Poitiers, to AFP.
“Militant hemorrhage”
According to several activists speaking on condition of anonymity, a first text signed by six action groups was read to LFI's new coordinator Manuel Bompard on December 1, during a Jeunes Insoumis event, without prompting a response.
On December 13, the Young Insoumis of Poitiers took the plunge and announced in a press release on Twitter “
the indefinite stoppage
” of the action group.
On social networks, activists are tearing themselves apart.
"
I used to receive violent messages from right-wing people, but there it was downright people with whom I was demonstrating yesterday
," Gabin breathes.
A week later, the young Poitevins were joined by more than a dozen action groups (young or not) in this “
militant strike
”.
In total, around twenty collectives stamped France insoumise have publicly expressed their anger, according to a count of the Discord Insoumis, a collective which brings together nearly 17,000 people on discussion channels.
A “
strike
” which does not consist of ceasing all activity, as Gabin explains, but rather “
of no longer displaying itself under the LFI banner, as long as there is Adrien Quatennens
”.
"
We remain focused on pensions
," he hastens to clarify.
“
Any internal criticism is equated with a desire to break the party or even outright to roll for Macron
”, regrets a co-host of a Strasbourg group.
Marie *, activist in France insubordinate since 2017 and feminist, signatory of the tribune, denounces a "
double standard, when we see that Taha Bouhafs (accused of sexual violence but not tried) was excluded very quickly
", judge- she.
“
We will not go further than the militant strike
”, explains the Discord Insoumis.
But "
we think that excluding definitively and as soon as possible Adrien Quatennens from the parliamentary group would make it possible, precisely, to avoid arriving at a militant hemorrhage
".
“
There is no homogeneity among young people
”, assures Aurélien Le Coq, national organizer of the Young Insoumis.
“
Everyone wants to be heard and participate in the debate, that's normal.
»
