Despite an intense election year, rebellious France continues its permanent campaign. In mid-August and a fortnight before the start of their university in Valence in the Drôme, which will start on Friday August 26, the Insoumis start this Thursday the 11 neighborhoods”. Launch the caravan in Lille this Thursday with one goal: to mobilize both sympathizers and activists.
In a small building pub in a working-class area of Lille, Leïla Ivorra, an Insoumise activist, walks through the four floors. Few doors open in this district that has fallen asleep from the heat of Lille. “Usually it’s one of three doors,” says the activist. “Hello Madame, we are the Insoumis, you know with Jean-Luc Mélenchon, against the high cost of living”, the speech has become well established. Some residents say they can no longer make ends meet, while others are rationing themselves. So the activists roll out their proposals, unable to defend the slightest progress made in Parliament.
In a district where Jean-Luc Mélenchon topped 60% in some polling stations in the first round of the presidential election, activists are finding listening ears here. And yet stratospheric abstinence compels the soil to continue plowing. “Even if we have a good result in percentage terms, it remains very low in terms of the number of votes compared to the number of registered voters because we are in one of the districts where there are the most abstentions in Lille,” Lucas estimates Tournier, elected municipal official of the metropolis of Lille.
“Here we have to approach the people, show them our full interest in making politics, show them why our proposals are effective for them.”
Lucas Tournier, Elected Municipal Officer
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At the foot of the buildings a small tent, a banner, the face of Jean-Luc Mélenchon and a few activists. This caravan is an opportunity to occupy the land for the Insoumis. It also aims to ensure that activists remain mobilized to build on the results of the presidential and parliamentary elections. Many are also eagerly awaiting the start of the school year. “We already know the dates of the back-to-school demonstrations, September 22 and 29,” said one activist with a smile. The 22nd is a day of mobilization for health professionals and the 29th is a “interprofessional strike day” in defense of a wage increase and against pension reform.