Candidates for re-election without having obtained the investiture of La France Insoumise, Alexis Corbière, Raquel Garrido and Danièle Simonnet, who consider themselves victims of a “purge“, denounced the “Jean-Luc Mélenchon’s methods“, during a press conference this Monday, July 1, in the presence and with the support of Clémentine Autain.
The wound is still rawThe day after the first round of legislative elections, Alexis Corbière, Raquel Garrido and Danielle Simonnet held a press conference on Monday 1is July, in Paris. Outgoing deputies of La France Insoumise, they have not did not obtain the investiture of their partybut still presented themselves for their succession before the voters. Once again, they denounced the “purge“who they believe they were victims of for daring to criticize the line and strategy of Jean-Luc Mélenchon.
After the first round, this press conference aimed to call on the candidates officially invested by La France Insoumise, Sabrina Ali Benali in Seine-Saint-Denis (7th constituency) and Celine Verzeletti in Paris (15th constituency), who received fewer votes than Alexis Corbière and Danielle Simonnet, who came in first, to withdraw.It is normally a political tradition“, argued Alexis Corbiere. “QWhat a waste of time and energy. The priority should be to campaign in all constituencies and try to prevent the election of an RN candidate.“, she cried Danielle Simonnetcastigating a “deplorable irresponsibility in the face of the historic challenge before us“.
“The request that was made to us by these ballots is to move on to the post-Jean-Luc Mélenchon era”
Qualified for the second round, but came in third behind Aly Diouara (NFP) and Aude Lagarde (UDI) in Seine-Saint-Denis (5th constituency), Raquel Garrido said she was ready to withdraw. On one condition: that Sabrina Ali Benali and Céline Verzeletti do the same. Beyond the immediate electoral issues, she judged that the votes collected by Alexis Corbière and Danièle Simonnet demonstrated the existence of a left opposed to the “Jean-Luc Mélenchon’s methods“, including in urban areas. “The request that was made to us by these ballots is to move on to the post-Jean-Luc Mélenchon era.“
Also present at the conference, Clementine Autain supported the request of her former colleagues, who may return next week. She herself invested by La France insoumise, the outgoing deputy of Seine-Saint-Denis (11th constituency), re-elected in the first round, was also very critical of the functioning of the party, believing that the internal struggles had been “decided by the ballot boxes“and that the voters had inflicted a”snub“to the decision taken by Jean-Luc Mélenchon with regard to Alexis Corbière and Danièle Simonnet.
“Insults”, “toxicity”, “a bit Trump-like”
THE “purged“returned to the difficulties they have faced since their exclusion by the LFI apparatus. “We were covered with insults“pointed out Alexis Corbière, who indicates having been the victim of a campaign of “lies“targeting him and his unfortunate comrades.”Shameful arguments have been made against me“, testified Raquel Garrido. For these historic executives of La France Insoumise, the decision not to reinvest them is explained by the debate they wanted to lead on the subject of the mode of governance of the movement founded by Jean-Luc Mélenchon.
Raquel Garrido particularly found the criticism of their profiles unwelcome, as it was “not sufficiently representative of working-class neighborhoods“. “I am one of the few people in the chamber who are immigrants.“, recalled the Franco-Chilean. “Putting us, racialized people, immigrants, in opposition is very unhealthy.“, she scolded, calling for a break with this “toxicity, these lies, this a bit Trump side“. And Alexis Corbière added: “We cannot fight the extreme right without a form of ethics..”
