Between the historical executives of LFI and the lieutenants of Jean-Luc Mélenchon, the positions diverge on the attitude to adopt towards the employees of the JDD, on strike in the face of the arrival at the direction of the far-right journalist Geoffroy Lejeune.
Support for the employees of the Sunday newspaper, on strike after the appointment as head of the weekly of the far-right journalist Geoffroy Lejeune, divides La France insoumise. According to information from France Inter, the subject opposes the faithful of Jean-Luc Mélenchon to historical executives.
On Tuesday, a column entitled “The JDD cannot become a newspaper at the service of far-right ideas”, published in Le Monde, collected the signatures of more than 650 personalities, including politicians from Macronie or the left, from Sacha Houllié, Renaissance deputy, to the communist Fabien Roussel for example. But this platform and the participation, or not, in the meeting of Reporters Without Borders on Tuesday, reveals one more fracture within LFI. On the one hand, there are the slingers, these historical executives recently dismissed from the direction of La France insoumise, such as Clémentine Autain, Alexis Corbière or Éric Coquerel, who signed the platform to support Le Journal du dimanche. They also went to the support evening organized by RSF.
>>> The editorial staff of the “JDD” continues its strike against the appointment of far-right journalist Geoffroy Lejeune as its director
But on the other side, there is Jean-Luc Mélenchon and his lieutenants, Sophia Chikirou, Clémence Guette, or the coordinator of La France insoumise Manuel Bompard who are not among the signatories. “There are some who signed and then there are some who preferred to stick to the position that we published in our press release, which says that we must go beyond simple denunciation.“, explains Manuel Bompard to France Inter. The press release from LFI pointed to Vincent Bolloré who “recently decided, against the advice of the employees, to appoint his political agent Geoffroy Lejeune, support of Eric Zemmour, to the direction of the Sunday newspaper (JDD)“.”We refuse this umpteenth stage of Vincent Bolloré’s ideological-political crusade“, affirmed the rebellious press release.
For JL Mélenchon, signing the petition “doesn’t make sense”
For Éric Coquerel, LFI deputy, it was necessary to sign the petition, even if “the text may not be perfect“, And “at the same time be present at the meeting” of Tuesday evening. An LFI deputy, who wishes to remain anonymous, confirms to France Inter that, in an internal discussion loop, Jean-Luc Mélenchon explained that signing the petition had “no Sens“, calling the JDD journalists “minions of Bolloréwho promote the extreme right.
This event comes on top of the many divisions that are already shaking La France insoumise. “It’s unfortunate“, comments an Insoumis, who hopes that the next vacation will rest his colleagues and erase the slate a little.