France is at a turning point in its history. After years of policies of social destruction, authoritarian drift and trivialization of racist discourse, propelled by the coup of an irresponsible president, the extreme right finds itself at the gates of power. Faced with this threat, the left was able to take its responsibilities and rally around the New Popular Front. In just a few days, it came together around single candidates in all constituencies and a breakthrough program. It thus thwarted the political calculation which relied on its fragmentation to renew the deadly face-to-face between the neoliberal bloc and the extreme right.
What is really at stake is not a character, shopkeeper rivalries, nor even a person, but the political line which will prevail on the left.
The response from those in power and the dominant political-media system was not long in coming. A systematic denigration campaign has begun whose objective is clear: to break the unity of the New Popular Front and block the path to the only alternative to the extreme right. However, it is clear that this campaign targets rebellious France with particular violence. All kinds of arguments, each as fallacious as the last, are mobilized for this purpose, from odious accusations of anti-Semitism to the pseudo-debate on the name of the prime minister of a future left-wing government. The person of Jean-Luc Mélenchon is continually targeted.
Let’s make no mistake about the nature of this business. What is really at stake is not a character, shopkeeper rivalries, nor even a person, but the political line which will prevail on the left: a supporting left, which will repeat the disastrous experiences of the past, or a left of rupture with the neoliberal order, a left capable of responding to popular aspirations. However, the political sequence of recent years, from the constitution of NUPES to that of the New Popular Front, has shown that only this line of rupture carried both dynamic and unity. It made it possible to reach, with the candidacy of Jean-Luc Mélenchon, 19.7% of the votes in 2017 and 22% in 2022, far ahead of the other components of the left. Without these electoral episodes, combined of course with the mobilizations of a dynamic social movement, the left could have simply disappeared from the French political landscape, as was the case in other European countries. The European campaign led by Manon Aubry reinforced this orientation, winning one million votes for France Insoumise compared to 2019.
In the critical moment we are experiencing, this combat left is essential to popular mobilization and the victory of the NFP in the face of the social and political disintegration of the country. It is for this reason that, beyond our various assessments on this or that aspect of its positions or its functioning, we ask that the campaign of denigration of rebellious France and its leaders cease.
Signatories
- Bruno Amable, economist
- Azzam Amin, lecturer in social psychology
- Cass Andre, streamer, Zawa Prod
- Simon Assoun, spokesperson for the Tsedek! collective
- Olivier Azam, director
- Daniel Bachet, professor emeritus at the University of Evry-Paris-Saclay
- Michel Barrué, honorary DPLG architect and honorary teacher-researcher
- Marion Beauvalet, activist and doctoral student
- Christian Benedetti, actor, director, member of parliament of the Popular Union
- Judith Bernard, playwright and director
- Eric Berr, economist and co-chair of the economics department at the La Boétie Institute
- Daphné Bitchatch, Guyot painter
- Francesco Brancaccio, doctoral school of Social Sciences University Paris 8
- Sebastian Budgen, Editor, Verso Books
- Dany Caligula, streamer, Zawa Prod
- Laurent Cesari, university professor of contemporary history
- Louise Chevillotte, actress
- Edwige Chirouter, university professor in philosophy of education
- Julie Crenn, art historian
- Pierre Crétois, philosopher
- Isabelle d’Artagnan, historian
- Geoffroy de Lagasnerie, philosophe
- Natalie Depraz, university professor, philosopher, Paris Nanterre University
- Renato Di Ruzza, honorary university professor
- Nicolas Dot-Pouillard, political science researcher, Beirut
- Vincent Dufrène, photographer
- Cédric Durand, economist
- Marie Duret-Pujol, lecturer in Theater Studies, Bordeaux Montaigne University
- Didier Eribon, philosopher
- Guillaume Etiévant, economic expert with the CSE
- Françoise Fressonnet, anthropologist
- Florian Gaité, philosopher and trade unionist
- Davide Gallo Lassere, lecturer in international politics, ULIP
- Fanny Gallot, historian
- Isabelle Garo, teacher, philosopher
- Sandrine Ghali, teacher
- Linda Gil, lecturer in literature, Université Paul-Valéry Montpellier 3
- Cécile Gintrac, geography teacher
- Thomas Giry, teacher and trade unionist
- Olivier Goujon, author, screenwriter
- Patrick Guyot Bitchatch, former executive of social ministries
- Patrick Haimzadeh, author and former diplomat in the Middle East and Libya
- Razmig Keucheyan, sociologist
- Stathis Kouvélakis, philosophe
- Kitterie Lageyre, general practitioner
- Martin Laquet, rebellious artist
- Frédéric Lebaron, sociologist
- Frédéric Lordon, philosophe
- Édouard Louis, writer
- Mathilde Louvain, responsible for public relations
- Michael Löwy, sociologist
- Baptiste Luaces, general practitioner
- Sandra Lucbert, literary author
- Elli Medeiros, artist
- Martin Mendiharat, playwright and director
- Jacqueline Merville, author
- Brahim Metiba, writer
- Monica Michlin, professor of contemporary American studies, Université Paul-Valéry Montpellier 3
- Olivier Minard, professor of philosophy
- Clément Mouhot, mathematician, professor at the University of Cambridge in England
- Ugo Palheta, sociologist
- Stefano Palombarini, economist
- Alexandra Peralta, doctor in ancient philosophy
- Léonie Pernet, musician
- Olivier Rabourdin, actor
- Raz, streamer, Zawa Prod
- Cecilia Rikap, economist
- Marlène Rosano, doctor in political science
- Léo Rosell, doctoral student in history
- Jean-Marie Roux, union and community activist
- Arnaud Saint-Martin, sociologist at CNRS
- Michel Samuel, anthropologist
- Samira Sarter, microbiologist researcher, CIRAD
- Sbeih Sbeih, associate researcher, IREMAM
- Jean-Marc Schiappa, historian
- Benoît Schneckenburger, philosophy teacher
- Raphaël Schneider, co-founder of the site hors-série.net
- Ferhat Tamssaouet, teacher-researcher at the University of Perpignan (UPVD)
- Federico Tarragoni, university professor of political sociology, member of the University Institute of France
- Julien Théry, historian
- Enzo Traverso, the story
- Julien Trevisan, associate professor and doctor of mathematics
- Yves Vargas, philosophe
- Carlo Vercellone, economist, professor of information and communication sciences
- Nicolas Vieillescazes, editor
- Gisèle Vienne, choreographer and director
- Nathalie Vienne-Guerrin, professor, Paul-Valéry Montpellier 3 University
- Abdourahman Waberi, writer, professor at George Washington University
- Louis Weber, editor
- Wissam Xelka, streamer, Zawa Prod
- Hela Yousfi, lecturer, University of Paris dauphine PSL
- Laurick Zerbini, lecturer (HDR) University Lyon 2
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