A current from the base of La France insoumise is organizing to reform and democratize the functioning of the party. Without its stars.
They will meet on Saturday February 10 in Gagny, in Seine-Saint-Denis, for a day of round tables around a subject: democratizing the internal functioning of La France insoumise. Tired of submitting to diktats from above, the grassroots activists of the party Jean-Luc Mélenchon launch this “call for a Sixth Republic at LFI”. An ironic nod to the project of the rebellious leader of a Sixth French Republic marked by a more direct democracy.
“For more than a year, we have tried to contribute to the internal debate of the movement through open letters and press releases, but this has not been possible. We have been ignored. We have therefore chosen another method to make ourselves hear”, explain the organizers in a press release taken up by Point And The Parisian. Around a hundred grassroots activists, parliamentary collaborators and small elected officials should respond to the call.
“Total faith in the self-organizing capacity of our people”
None of the party’s known figures are invited to the event. Not even the deputies removed from the leadership of LFI in December 2022, such as Clémentine Autain, François Ruffin or even Raquel Garrido, withdrawn from the party last November after repeated disagreements with the leaders. Those who had already been considered rebellious are not associated with this new movement resolutely coming from the base.
There is no question, however, of seceding, the activists intend to change things from the inside. To do this, on February 10 they will work on a reform of the internal organization of La France insoumise, which they will propose and submit to the vote of party supporters. “This time, the debate will be open to LFI,” they explain. “And, like Jean-Luc Mélenchon, we have total faith in the self-organizing capacity of our people.”
What does Mélenchon think about all this? The founder of the party refutes the birth of a rebellious “current” and defends the “gaseous” composition of La France insoumise, a movement crossed by resolutely diverse tendencies. In any case, he refuses to give credit to those he calls the “mourners of internal democracy”.