AFP
Paint throwing and invective: Raphaël Glucksmann prevented from May 1 procession in Saint-Etienne
“Get out of it”, “Palestine will live”: violently attacked and sprayed with paint, Raphaël Glucksmann, head of the PS-Place publique list, was ousted from the May 1 procession in Saint-Etienne, but assures that no one will not make him “lower his head”, pointing the finger at rebellious France, which Jean-Luc Mélenchon rejects.Mr. Glucksmann and his entourage were subjected to invective as soon as they arrived, with paint and cans being thrown, as well as cries like “Glucksmann get out of there” or “Palestine will live”. The head of the list, accusing “around fifty cranks”, some of whom belong to LFI according to him, has given up demonstrating. Prime Minister Gabriel Attal condemned this violence. “Politics can sometimes be a fight in the noble sense of the term, but it must always be done with respect for the integrity of people,” he declared on the sidelines of a trip to Beaugency (Loiret) .The leader of La France insoumise Jean-Luc Mélenchon, with whom Raphaël Glucksmann has numerous disagreements, on Ukraine, defense Europe or China, also “totally disapproved.” “All those who want to show allegiance to the workers’ struggle for their rights have their place on May 1. Just get away from them if they displease us,” he argued on X, deploring that this action provided “a media diversion. against May 1st and a victim role for Glucksmann who takes the opportunity to accuse us.” In another message in the afternoon, Mr. Mélenchon asked the leader of Place publique to apologize for having accused, according to him, wronged his movement, emphasizing that “the Young Communists of 42 claimed responsibility for this action”. In a message on rebellious.But the head of the PCF list Léon Deffontaines assured Wednesday that in “the accounts which relayed these images, none are part of the French Communist Party”. “These activists have no place in any of our political forces, whatever they may be, and I want to firmly denounce them,” he added. “What is certain is that there were flags of political parties,” said the 44-year-old essayist shortly after the incident, referring to those of Permanent Revolution (a Trotskyist movement, Editor’s note), of France Insoumise and Jeunesses Communistes. The head of the list had stains of green paint on his forehead and red on his jacket, noted an AFP journalist. – “Frustration” – “No one will make us lower our heads “, insisted Raphaël Glucksmann later during a press briefing in Villeurbanne, just before a meeting. According to him, this violence is “the result of a campaign of slander orchestrated on social networks by certain political parties and certain political leaders”, he judged, regretting that some on the left “have decided to target not the extreme right, but our campaign”, without naming anyone. But in a series of messages on to Jean-Luc Mélenchon to stop “playing with fire”. Mr. Glucksmann has been the subject of attacks on social networks for several months, notably from activists close to LFI, but he was also targeted by young communists in the North, on a poster where he was called a “bastard”.Several candidates for the European elections denounced these incidents, like the rebellious Manon Aubry and the LR François-Xavier Bellamy. In an interview with AFP, Mr. Glucksmann attributed these angry movements to “a reaction of frustration because the dynamic is with us”, in reference to the polls for the European elections of June 9, giving it at 14% according to an Ipsos study from Monday, in ambush behind the presidential majority candidate Valérie Hayer (17%). “To those who are brutalizing the public debate I will meet on June 9. I think they will have a immense disappointment”, he added to AFP. Referring to the slogans on the conflict in Gaza, he assured “not to have stuttered to condemn Hamas” while “fighting for the carnage in Gaza to stop “.dm-lv-mla-caz/fan
