Despite an intense election year, rebellious France continues in a form of permanent campaign. In the middle of August, and a fortnight before the start of their university in Valence in the Drôme which will begin on Friday August 26, the Insoumis are launching their “popular caravan” this Thursday August 11, to meet the inhabitants of the “popular districts”. Launch this Thursday of the caravan in Lille, with one objective: to mobilize both sympathizers and activists.
In a small building bar in a working-class district of Lille, Leïla Ivorra, an Insoumise activist, goes through the four floors. Few doors open in this district dozed by the heat of Lille. “In general, it is one in three doors“, specifies the activist. “Hello Madam, we are the Insoumis, you know with Jean-Luc Mélenchon, against the high cost of living“, the discourse is well established. Some residents say they can no longer make ends meet, others ration themselves. So the activists roll out their proposals, unable to defend the slightest progress obtained in Parliament.
In a district where Jean-Luc Mélenchon exceeded 60% in the first round of the presidential election in some polling stations, activists find attentive ears here. And yet, the stratospheric abstention obliges to continue to plow the ground. “Even if, we have a good score in terms of percentages, in number of votes compared to the number of registered voters, it remains very low because we are here in one of the districts where there is the most abstention in Lille.“, estimates Lucas Tournier, elected municipal official in the Lille metropolis.
“here, we also have to reach out to people, show them all the interest of doing politics, show them why our proposals will be concretely effective for them”
Lucas Tournier, elected municipal officialfranceinfo
At the foot of the buildings, a small marquee, a banner, the face of Jean-Luc Mélenchon and a few activists. This caravan is an opportunity to occupy the land for the Insoumis. The objective is also to ensure that activists remain mobilized to build on the results of the presidential and legislative elections. Moreover, many are already eagerly awaiting the start of the school year. “We already know the dates of the back-to-school events, September 22 and 29.“, says an activist with a smile. The 22nd is a day of mobilization of health professionals, and the 29th, a “interprofessional strike dayto defend a wage increase and against pension reform.