It has been a long time since we noticed the absence of a Palestinian flag at a rally organized by La France insoumise (LFI). For once, a European flag was even hoisted on a large mast, overlooking the makeshift platform from which Manon Aubry, head of the LFI list in the European elections, spoke on Monday afternoon in Amiens. Funny, for the organization which banned the star-spangled banner from all its meetings. This is because the candidate Insoumise, credited with 8% of voting intentions in our daily Ifop-Fiducial poll, spoke from a field that she did not choose: the Metex factory, threatened with closure for lack of buyers. , which produces lysine, an amino acid present for example in Aspégic. The workers blame “Chinese dumping” permitted by the European Union by lowering import taxes on this chemical product.
A round table was organized in the parking lot of the industrial site in close collaboration with the microparty of Insoumis MP François Ruffin, who was also present. Alongside the two elected officials, who were rather complicit, several unionists spoke out, vehemently denouncing their working conditions. The opportunity for Manon Aubry to put on the agenda of her campaign the social issues that she is particularly fond of, after several weeks of bludgeoning her party over the humanitarian situation in Gaza. “I prefer it when Manon Aubry campaigns with François Ruffin in Amiens to talk about reindustrialization than with Jean-Luc Mélenchon on Eurovision,” confides a bit mockingly the communist candidate for the European elections, Léon Deffontaines from Amiens.
“These two subjects are not in competition with each other. We must be able to talk about what these employees are experiencing while demanding an immediate ceasefire in Gaza,” explained l’Insoumise. François Ruffin, who has several times disagreed with Jean-Luc Mélenchon’s line since he joined his movement in 2017, for his part has prioritized these two campaign themes. “Obviously we need an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, obviously we need to do everything to help Ukraine, but people’s daily lives are not that,” he defended in front of several journalists.
The elected official from the Somme, who has long been committed to the defense of the industrial fabric of his territory, has however shown his full support for the list led by Manon Aubry in the election on June 9. “I support the list of La France insoumise for a simple reason: clarity”, affirmed François Ruffin in front of the fifty employees and trade unionists gathered in front of him, before praising the total opposition of the radical left group co-chaired by Manon Aubry in the European Parliament to all free trade treaties.
The support of François Ruffin, figure of the left and putative candidate for the next presidential election, was to be showcased again Monday evening during a joint meeting in Amiens. The various speeches should largely focus on the social consequences of deindustrialization. By specifically targeting the European Commission and its President, Ursula von der Leyen, guilty, according to Manon Aubry, of “organizing our own vulnerability by building an economic model in which we are there to be plundered by China and by all States who produce at low cost and who drag down the rights of workers and the environment . The MEP also made a commitment on Monday afternoon to “bring back” the President of the European Commission in front of Metex employees.
Manon Aubry preceded the arrival of Raphaël Glucksmann, the socialist candidate credited with 14% of the voting intentions, who will go to the factory this Tuesday before a meeting to “present (his) proposals for a social and united Europe”.