In Le Bourget (Seine-Saint-Denis),
Three little letters for a (citizen) revolution. La France insoumise presented its program for the presidential election this Saturday during a major meeting at Le Bourget. In front of the party shops, you have to wait for many minutes to obtain the precious sesame: the AEC (for the Future in Common), the programmatic book sold at the price of 4.90 euros. “Shit, I don’t have any change,” whispers a young man when he arrives at the entrance to the Exhibition Center. “I have 5 euros if you want, I already bought three in the bookstore yesterday…” said one of his friends. For once, the “star” of the day is not Jean-Luc Mélenchon. At least officially. Because it is indeed the quadruple candidate for the Élysée that thousands of sympathizers came to see this afternoon in Seine-Saint-Denis. With a mixture of fascination and attachment for the 75-year-old tribune. “It should be the program, it’s the most important, but in the Fifth Republic, the campaigns are focused on one person, so…” smiles Pierre, who came from Paris. The activist wears a flocked French team jersey on his shoulders… “Mélenchon 27”.
“We are ready to govern”
Before the first speeches, around 3 p.m., the huge gray room that looks like a warehouse is packed. The tricolor flags mingle with the purple flags of the rebellious movement.
“It’s going to be a great time. We are going to put the program forward. A revised program after ten years of macronism which damaged the country. We are ready to govern, more than ever and more than any other political force”
On stage, figures from the movement parade to defend some 1,069 proposals. “We are presenting a disruptive program. The rebels are in the campaign, determined to change everything! », Launches MP Clémence Guetté, co-responsible for the project. “Heading for victory,” says Bally Bagayoko, the mayor of Saint-Denis, to much applause. Increase in the minimum wage to 1,700 euros net, retirement at 60, exit from nuclear power... With each measure, the room exults.
“We must not turn around words, be afraid of them. Our program completely changes its economic model,” defends Jean-Luc Mélenchon at the microphone a little later. “This program has already collected 7 million votes twice, it is a formidable point of support for bringing the people together,” he adds. What does it matter if the project does not include specific financing, which will arrive, the party is told, in several weeks. “Those who told me in 2017, 'you are going to make 100 billion deficits', they made 1,200 billion! », evacuates, amusing the room, the rebellious leader.
“We are going to win”
By bringing together several thousand people, Jean-Luc Mélenchon achieved a new “show of force” this Saturday. And illustrates its polling dynamics in recent weeks. The tribune has never been so high in November and now qualifies for the second round, distancing Édouard Philippe in the latest opinion polls. But he is still beaten, and very clearly, in the event of a duel against Marine Le Pen according to these same polls. A consequence of the strategy of “conflictualisation” which he is accused of, including on the left? Members of the Nous Vivrons collective unfurled a banner against anti-Semitism shortly before the meeting, singing “hatred of Jews is Mélenchon’s passion,” noted AFP. An action which aimed to recall the numerous controversies on the subject surrounding the candidate. The person concerned prefers to mock the criticisms aimed at him on the microphone: “Commentators recommend that I put water in my wine to seduce and be less divisive. I won’t do it.”
Enough to further revive the euphoria in the bays. “We’re going to win” are regularly called out in the room. “He is the only candidate who denounces when it hurts and defends a better distribution of wealth, so I will vote for him if I am not convinced by the increase in the minimum wage,” admits Makhlouf, a 50-year-old business manager. “There is real work to be done to reach out to abstainers, particularly in working-class neighborhoods. There will be a surge, I am convinced that we will win,” he adds. “The dynamic is different, we see it when we are towing, we have the impression that something is happening, but we have to keep a cool head,” assures Pierre. Barbara, from Angoulême, is more direct: “There are two sides of the barricade, the RN and us. We feel that this campaign is different, people are becoming aware. We see it in young people, who are currently taking control of their future,” enthuses Barbara, in her fifties, from Angoulême, and adds: “I believe in victory, I want to believe in it.”
