The coordinator of France Insoumise, Manuel Bompard, tackles on franceinfo the boss of the Communist Party, Fabien Roussel, whom he accuses of “caricaturing” the demonstration planned for September 23 at the call of the Insoumis in particular.
Fabien Roussel is “a liar”, reacted Manuel Bompard, coordinator of France Insoumise (LFI) and deputy for Bouches-du-Rhône, on franceinfo Thursday September 21, while the national secretary of the Communist Party chose not to participate in this demonstration at the initiative of LFI and a hundred associations and unions. A march against “police violence” and against “the repression of social protests”after the death of young Nahel, killed by a police officer in June in Nanterre.
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“I will not participate in this demonstration, because I do not want to demonstrate hearing ‘everyone hates the police’, that is not true and I do not share that slogan”Fabien Roussel declared on franceinfo. “He has the right not to participate in this demonstration, but he does not have the right to caricature the slogans”retorted the LFI deputy on Thursday September 21. “It is indeed a demonstration against police violence, against racism in the police and it is a demonstration for social justice”, explained the LFI coordinator. Asked about the slogan, ‘everyone hates the police’, he assured that if it exists, “there are problems in the organization of the police”. “A divide is emerging between the police and part of the population”, judged the LFI deputy. He called for “an in-depth reform of the police”in particular the 2017 law, highly criticized by LFI, which considers it to be a “license to kill”.
Disagreements over the “turn” of the demonstration
Another point of friction between the LFI coordinator and the boss of the communists, the “turn” politics of the September 23 demonstration. “I saw that in addition, since then, they had added as a demand the authorization of the wearing of the abaya in schools. For me, this demonstration is taking a turn that I do not share, this is the reason for which I won’t be there”explained Fabien Roussel. “The text calling for this demonstration, which is a march for freedom, for dignity, does not include the slogan ‘Everyone hates the police’, nor the defense of the wearing of the abaya or whatever, as he just said”replies the Insoumis deputy.
Like the Communist Party, the Socialist Party will not participate in this demonstration. The PS indicated on Wednesday September 20 that it would not “did not recognize in the denunciation of systemic racism, which opens the door to the idea of state racism”.