Renewed Monday without surprise at the head of the PCF meeting in congress in Marseille, Fabien Roussel called on the left to “build a new Popular Front” to “build a free, strong and happy France”.
The list drawn by Mr. Roussel for the National Council won 80.4% of the votes after a vote on Monday.
Mr. Roussel, who will be 54 years old in a few days, has led the PCF since November 2018 and his re-election caused little suspense after his orientation text had already won 82% of the vote in January.
Unlucky candidate for the 2022 presidential election with 2.3% of the vote, Fabien Roussel was acclaimed at the 39th PCF congress at the Palais du Pharo for his truthful speaking and his pugnacity in asserting his positions against La France insoumise (LFI) of Jean-Luc Mélenchon within the Nupes.
The very first words of his closing speech at the congress were for the people of Marseilles, struck by the “terrible tragedy” of the collapse of a building in the center of the city, and the emergency services, which the room discussed at length applauded.
Four days before the long-awaited decisions of the Constitutional Council on the pension reform, the national secretary of the PCF again called on President Emmanuel Macron to withdraw his reform raising the retirement age from 62 to 64 years.
“The President of the Republic has lost the French, he has lost public opinion, he has lost the unions,” he said.
He expressed the Communist Party’s ambition to “restore retirement at 60”.
“Retirement at 60, we fought to win it, we will fight to keep it,” chorused the activists in the room where party flags were waving.
Resuming his antiphon, Fabien Roussel proposed to “build a new Popular Front to build together a free, strong and happy France”.
“Because with Macron, it’s hello sadness every morning, and it’s grimace soup every evening”, he added, accusing the head of state of having “transformed happiness into privilege”.
“Building a new Popular Front means building a program (…) with respect for everyone, without hegemony from anyone”, he developed, calling once again “to go further than the union built in the aftermath of the presidential election “between La France insoumise, the Socialist Party (PS), Europe Ecology – The Greens (EELV) and the PCF.
“It’s not about throwing the baby out with the bathwater, but you still have to change the water from time to time!”, He launched to applause.
More concretely, Fabien Roussel announced that he would ask “in the coming weeks” for a “working meeting” of the left-wing forces gathered within Nupes “to take stock of what we have built up to now and what everyone wants to do tomorrow”.
“At the same time, we will continue to discuss with all those who would like it”, he specified, stressing that “the door of the place of Colonel Fabien will always be open”.
At the opening of the congress on Friday, the deputy from the North had raised his voice against LFI, assuming his statements on an “outdated” Nupes and having to expand towards the center left.
“Mind your own business,” he told LFI, who called on the Communists to “clarify” their position after their leader’s statements.
The tension had gone down a notch on Saturday with the arrival at the congress of the coordinator of La France insoumise Manuel Bompard, who had assured that he had no “intention” to get “angry” with the Communists.
04/10/2023 15:28:38 – Paris (AFP) – © 2023 AFP
