His speech is eagerly awaited, especially for the activists from La France insoumise (LFI), troubled for a week by the positions taken by their leader. Saturday, September 24, Jean-Luc Mélenchon is the guest of “Quelle époque!”the new talk show presented by Léa Salamé, at 11:25 p.m. on France 2, while the Adrien Quatennens affair has been making headlines for more than a week.
The young LFI deputy from the North was forced to step down from his duties within the party, after admitting in a press release on September 18 that he had slapped his wife Céline during an argument a year ago. year. And this is not the first case of violence against women that has shaken the far left party. Dtwo figures of La France insoumise had already been called into question (to varying degrees) by testimonies: the ephemeral candidate for the legislative elections Taha Bouhafs in May and the Chairman of the Finance Committee Eric Coquerel end of June.
But this time, the explosion seems stronger. Jean-Luc Mélenchon supported the former number two of the movement, welcoming “his dignity” and “his courage”, without clearly condemning this domestic violence. A shocking attitude for some of his most loyal lieutenants, who have publicly questioned the statements of the rebellious leader for the first time since the creation of the party in 2016. Franceinfo traces the thread of this eventful week for Jean-Luc Mélenchon.
“I am stepping back from my role as coordinator of La France insoumise to protect the movement, its activists and all those who rely a lot on me.” After the revelation, Tuesday September 13, by The chained Duck of the deposita handrail targeting Adrien Quatennens, the young parliamentarian, who had been entrusted by Jean-Luc Mélenchon with the functions of party coordinator in June 2019, wanted to take responsibility, in an attempt to reduce the pressure around this highly sensitive affair.
But posting a tweet of support from his mentor, Jean-Luc Mélenchon, Sunday, September 18, set fire to the powder. While denouncing “police malice, media voyeurism, social networks” rather than the facts themselves, without having a word for the victim, the leader of La France insoumise caused an uproar on social networks.
In an attempt to put out the fire, the former socialist then published a second message, without really going back to the controversial content of the previous tweet: “Céline and Adrien are both my friendshe wrote. My affection for him does not mean that I am indifferent to Céline. She didn’t want to be quoted. But I say: a slap is unacceptable in any case. Adrian accepts it. It’s good.”
The development, also criticized, did not prevent the indignation of gain the ranks of the party. The next day, Monday, September 19, several parliamentarians publicly expressed their anger at the reaction of Jean-Luc Mélenchon and other party leaders. Pascale Martin, LFI deputy for Dordogne, opened the ball of criticism. “As a deputy elected to defend the program of La France insoumise and Nupes, but also as a feminist activist, I cannot remain silent in the face of her reactions. They are insufficient and unacceptable in more ways than one”she denounces in a long statement posted on Twitter.
“Some of these tweets also reveal a minimization of the facts that have been committed and a misunderstanding of the reality of domestic violence. No, it is not a simple ‘divorce of comrades’.”
Pascale Martin, LFI deputy for Dordogneon Twitter
Other figures of La France insoumise have finally decided to come out of the woods. In the columns of ParisianClémentine Autain has in turn overwhelmed Jean-Luc Mélenchon. “Those are his words, not mine”explains the member for Seine-Saint-Denis, asking all the members of her party to “dedicate above all our thoughts to Céline Quatennens and to all women who experience violence”.
Despite a political office devoted Monday to the Quatennens affair, the press conference organized the next day by the parliamentary group of La France insoumise reveals in broad daylight the embarrassment of many elected officials in the face of the recent positions taken by Jean-Luc Mélenchon. . “We have a press release produced by the coordination of the spaces of La France insoumise in which we all find ourselves”, kick in touch Mathilde Panot, the president of the LFI group in the National Assembly. A press release which is limited in three sentences to “greet” Adrien Quatennens’ decision and to recall the movement’s unfailing commitment to the fight against violence against women.
On the same day, a column by LFI activists and other left-wing parties published by Release continues to put pressure on the boss of the rebellious. “We strongly condemn the reactions of Jean-Luc Mélenchon and his peers, which reinforce the patriarchal culture. Make no mistake: if the non-respect of the secrecy desired by the victim is an additional violence, the lack of solidarity and the minimization of the facts contribute to the culture of gender-based and sexual violence”, they write, demanding the resignation of Adrien Quatennens from his parliamentary mandate. The signatories also request that the unit against sexual and sexist violence of La France insoumise “seriously consider all available degrees of sanctions”.
But Jean-Luc Mélenchon persists and signs. “Do you regret the tweets you posted?”, asks a journalist from the show “DailyThursday, September 22. Jean-Luc Mélenchon sneers then responds by tapping his interlocutor on the cheek: “Sir, I weigh my words all the time, you’re the one who regrets what you’re saying to me.” A new controversial release and an inappropriate gesture that ignites social networks again.
This is too much for some parliamentarians. Without mentioning her name, MP Danièle Obono took the initiative to publish, in stride, social media text. “Our program advocates the fight against this violence. In an intelligent, humanist, emancipatory way. But in such a way as to eradicate it. All”, writes the elected Parisian. And to conclude: “It is not doing anyone a favor, neither to the victims, nor to the movement, even less to the person implicated, than to minimize them”.
This new case of domestic violence within La France insoumise fractures the party internally. Two political lines now clash. The first, embodied by deputies like Alexis Corbière or Manuel Bompard, who defend tooth and nail their leader. “Jean-Luc Mélenchon is not suspect of not having a clear position on the fight against violence against women”, hammered the first in the program “Les 4 Vérités” on France 2, Friday September 23. The second meanwhile got bogged down on CNews claiming that a slap “is not equal to a man who beats his wife every day”.
“We know what we owe him. And we especially know deep down that he has made violence against women his priority.”
A framework of La France insoumiseat franceinfo
The second political line, more driven by women leaders or young activists, do not hesitate to denounce “minimization” of the facts by Jean-Luc Mélenchon in this affair, without officially dissociating himself from him.
In The ParisianMP Clémentine Autain, long involved in the fight against sexist and sexual violence, does not seem to want to overwhelm Jean-Luc Mélenchon. “I know how painful this event is for us to deal with because it concerns a comrade, one of our most brilliant leaders. It is not always easy to find the words, but it seems to me essential not to lose the thread of our fundamental commitments”she confides in the columns of the daily.
Contacted by franceinfo, Danièle Obono assures her that divisions do not exist within La France insoumise. “No, there are not two lines or fractures. There is a human collective that has suffered a shock and is working to overcome it.”