MEP Manon Aubry recounted on France info on Monday the “astonishment” experienced by the Insoumis from the revelation last Tuesday of a handrail deposited by the wife of the deputy from the North: “None of us had any information”. But “the amazement quickly gave way to action”, she welcomed about her withdrawal requested by LFI.
Despite everything, several Insoumis executives followed one another on Twitter to regret the loss of a talented comrade more than the slap and other violence inflicted on Ms. Quatennens.
Jean-Luc Mélenchon set the tone on Sunday, denouncing “police malice, media voyeurism, social networks”. On the contrary, he praised Adrien Quatennens – whom he counted among his most devoted disciples and potential successors – “dignity” and “courage”, repeating to him his “trust” and his “affection”.
“These are not my words. I think Jean-Luc Mélenchon felt a little betrayed by Adrien Quatennens”, explained Manon Aubry.
MP Raquel Garrido, close to the Insoumis leader, saw “loyalty to the collective” manifest in Adrien Quatennens, who went to public confession.
“There is the couple of friends that we love and that we hate to see tear each other apart. There is the political leader, Adrien Quatennens, whom we admire for his honesty and his abnegation”, tweeted MP Sophia Chikirou .
MP LFI Pascale Martin protested in a press release: “As a feminist activist, who for years has accompanied women victims of domestic violence, I cannot remain silent in the face of these reactions”, “insufficient and unacceptable”.
They are able to “discourage women who are victims of sexist violence or acts within France Insoumise from reporting the facts to the monitoring committee against sexist and sexual violence which the movement has set up”, according to the elected of the Dordogne.
MP Danièle Obono tried to qualify: “Adrien is, in my opinion, neither a bastard nor a hero. Domestic violence is a systemic reality, of a terrible banality to which we must not / no longer get used to” .
This case embarrasses the rebels all the more as it is added this year to the investigation for sexual assaults against the LFI president of the Finance Committee Eric Coquerel, and to the cancellation of the legislative investiture of Taha Bouhafs for suspicion of sexual violence.
“It reveals a fragility of LFI but it would be fair to consider that these fragilities exist in all parties”, reacted the first secretary of the PS Olivier Faure, one of the most active partners of LFI within Nupes.
He felt “to understand that the bonds of friendship sometimes end up overlapping with what is the collective interest”, “but there must be no exceptions”.
“It eliminates the one who was most apt to take over (at LFI). The others are less strong. They will be annoyed”, judges a socialist deputy in private. Who cares: “I would not want this specific case to be a means of weakening the Nupes as a process”. “It weakens the image of LFI” above all, he insists, “because it is in contradiction with the values that we all defend”.
Ecologist Sandrine Rousseau suggested that Adrien Quatennens withdraw “from the LFI group in the Assembly”. But another green deputy said the opposite to AFP: “It would be disproportionate for him to lose his mandate as a deputy, he was elected, it is not the same thing as resigning from a direction” that it was entrusted to him internally.
A few hours after his first tweet, Jean-Luc Mélenchon in any case tried to correct the situation: “A slap is unacceptable in any case. Adrien assumes it. It’s good”.
