André Lajoinie, former leader of the PCF, has died

The former leader of the French Communist Party and candidate in the 1988 presidential election, André Lajoinie, is dead, the current national secretary of the PCF Fabien Roussel announced Tuesday, November 26, on X.Immense sadness at the announcement of the death of André Lajoinie (…) We are losing a man of great humanity», paid tribute to him Fabien Roussel, greeting “his fights for the working classes, for his territory, for France».

Born on December 26, 1929, André Lajoinie, son of Corrèze peasants, embodied for more than half a century the man of the apparatus devoted to his party. Child of a family of poor farmers, forced to abandon school after his school certificate to help in the fields, André Lajoinie defended “a predominantly family-based agriculture, with structures on a human scale”.

Beyond the French Communist Party, several left-wing figures also paid tribute to his memory. “André Lajoinie was born into a family of modest peasants, and he grew up in the spirit of the Resistance. All his life, faithful to his communist commitment, he fought for social justice and for family farming.“, greeted former socialist president François Hollande on X. The leader of La France insoumise (LFI) Jean-Luc Mélenchon spoke of “an effective and powerful megaphone» popular struggles «particularly in rural and peasant environments» as well as its “absolute dedication» to communism.

“The love of people deep in the heart”

«The son of farmers, he had a love of people deep in his heart. Member of Parliament, leader of the PCF, André was a fierce defender of the working class», wrote party spokesperson Ian Brossat on X. Mr. Lajoinie was “a figure of the committed left, that of activists who give everything for what they believe in. Respectful thoughts for his family and comrades», Added PS deputy Emmanuel Grégoire.

André Lajoinie joined the Jeunesses Communistes (JC) in the aftermath of the war, in 1946. A pure and hardline activist, seriously injured in 1958 during a demonstration against the Algerian war, he followed a very classic path: central party school (1964), Moscow cadre school (1967), entry into the Central Committee in 1972 and the Political Bureau in 1976. consecration arrived in 1982, with his entry into the party secretariat, then headed by Georges Marchais.

In the 1988 presidential election, André Lajoinie led the difficult battle against the president-candidate François Mitterrand and won a small 6.76%, which ensured his party would be reimbursed for campaign expenses. This specialist in agricultural issues was a deputy for Allier from 1978 to 1993, then re-elected in 1997. He threw in the towel in 2002, at the age of 72, and decided not to run again.