A grandstand in Release and a massive presence on Twitter. This is how the collective #RelèveFéministe, which denounces “a system of protection of aggressors, all parties combined”, was born Tuesday, September 20. He believes that a “omerta (…) persists thanks to complicity, identified behavior and conniving cowardice”. Franceinfo looks back on the creation of this feminist collective which targets political organizations.
The trigger goes back to the evening of Sunday, September 18. A few hours after the release of the rebellious deputy Adrien Quatennens, where the elected northerner admits to having “slap” his wife with whom he is in the process of divorcing, many activists decide to express their anger. “On met with 150 activists to show that women refuse to have violent men at the head of our parties”explains Marie Coquille-Chambel.
This member of the #RelèveFéministe collective, also at the origin of the #MeTooThéâtre movement, says she was “disgusted to see the way in which certain executives of La France insoumise came to the defense of Adrien Quatennes”. It aims without naming Jean-Luc Mélenchon, who initially supported the coordinator of La France insoumise, targeted by a judicial inquiry for suspicion of domestic violence, without having a word for his companion.
The collective judges as well as“no militant organization can reasonably consider that it is not concerned”. “Since the men seem unable to do better, it is time to hand over”, he pleads in a forum signed by more than 500 feminist activists. Socialist spokesperson Gabrielle Siry-Houari, elected environmentalist Alice Coffin and journalist Elsa Wolinski are among the signatories.
“We want to sort out the parties and change the way parties protect aggressors and people accused of sexual and gender-based violence.”
Marie Coquille-Chambel, member of #RelèveFéministeat franceinfo
Anchor “Politics” of the collective, of “left and extreme left”, is assumed. Just like his “non-mixed”. The platform was in fact only signed by women and trans people. “If we want a feminist succession, we need women at the head of the institutions”, says Marie Coquille-Chambel. While Adrien Quatennens has started withdrawing from his functions within La France insoumise, the collective asks him to resign.
La France insoumise is not the only political movement to be targeted. A message challenging Europe Ecologie-Les Verts has thus been shared hundreds of times by Internet users thanks to the hashtag #RelèveFéministe, after the accusations of Sandrine Rousseau. The Green MP said on Monday that she had received a woman at her home accusing Julien Bayou, the party’s national secretary, of “behaviours likely to break the moral health of women”.
“How do we make sure that the activists are safe? No action seems to have been taken, why?”
The #RelèveFéministe collectivein a message challenging Europe Ecology-The Greens
Another message, also relayed many times on Twitter, challenges La France insoumise and sacellule against sexist and sexual violence about the deputy Thomas Portes, who would have been the subject of a report in July according to Mediapart.
“We are accused of being a people’s court, but there is a difference between a court and us. We just want to make cases visible while respecting the presumption of innocence.”
Marie Coquille-Chambel, member of #RelèveFéministeat franceinfo
The group plans to carry out actions and regularly challenge political parties to “ask for accounts”. Next on the list will be Renaissance, the presidential majority party.