elected socialists call for a reform of the statutes of the PS to revive the fight

Elected, ex-elected or executives of the PS deplored, Saturday, September 17, “a halt” to progress towards parity in politics in the legislative elections, including in the socialist group, and propose to reform the statutes of the party on the eve of its parliamentary days. “The political period that is opening does not encourage optimism”for Gabrielle Siry-Houari, spokesperson for the PS and author of the text published by the JDDand co-signed by around sixty elected officials, ex-elected officials, local executives or activists.

“The right to abortion is questioned in the United States, the extreme right is anchored in the heart of our institutions (…) the fight for equality between women and men must be a national priority”, continues the spokesperson. The tribune points in particular to the drop in the number of female deputies as a “stoppage”. 215 women (37.3%) were elected after the second round in the last legislative elections, compared to 224 in 2017 (38.8%). In 2012, women elected MPs were 155.

“The Socialist Party historically carries the fight for parity”recall the signatories, deploring that “lack of sufficient voluntarism” the decline affected the PS group, which rose to “a third of women”while he “was perfectly equal”. In detail, the Socialist group in the Assembly has gone from 14 women out of 28 members at the end of June to 11 women out of 31 deputies currently, including relatives. The signatories thus call for a reform of the statutes of the PS, in particular to move towards “parity on winnable ridings, not just overall parity that leaves the best ridings to men” with the appointment of one or more “election officer”.

The elected officials also call for “impose a limitation of mandates in time”. They also ask for “facilitating time-consuming political engagement when time is a scarce resource for many women”by adapting meeting times and formats, by developing “from reception for young children to events” of the PS, and in “systematizing in all instances the alternation of women and men in speeches”.