“The speech of part of the left annoys me to the highest point” | EUROtoday
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En getting into with Léon Deffontaines the imposing concrete corridor of the headquarters of the French Communist Party (PCF), Place du Colonel-Fabien in Paris, we witness a surreal scene. We observe with amusement that the pinnacle of the PCF record within the European elections has but to seem on the reception of the headquarters of his personal get together. “Léon Deffontaines, head of the European list,” he whispered, smiling, to the person at reception, who had not acknowledged him. The younger man, affable and humble, not the kind to push himself (Mao?), laughs. That he’s not identified doesn’t matter to him. It will come.
His first appearances within the media have already been seen. During the primary debate on Public Senate final Thursday, his calm contrasted with the aggressiveness of the opposite heads of the record, who insulted one another, typically making the change inaudible. He who considers these “bickering” insufferable has somewhat been in a position to get out of the sport. “I have had very good feedback,” he confides whereas ingesting espresso on the terrace of the Café des dames, simply reverse the headquarters. . He corrects himself instantly: being “very demanding” of himself, he has after all famous a number of areas for enchancment.
His fashion, his self-deprecation and his sincerity refresh the outdated picture of the century-old get together. His journey is astonishing. In the road, he could possibly be confused with a member of the Young Republicans – LR's youth motion. The impeccable swimsuit and the haircut (the sculpted lock) might have had one thing to do with it. The rising star of the PCF additionally says that he comes from a household of “traditional Catholics”, farmers from father to son within the Amiens area. His grandfather learn Current values !
“I would never have gotten into politics if I hadn’t been born in Amiens,” he tells us. I discovered in a short time what the phrase “relocation” meant in concrete phrases. Everyone in my home knew somebody who labored at Goodyear, and I’d drive previous the manufacturing facility each Sunday, which was a quarter-mile from my grandparents' farm. » He joined the Young Communists at 17, then the PCF at 20.
Taste for work
“It’s the only party that really defends, today, emancipation through work,” he believes. The speech of a part of the left annoys me to no finish. I labored arduous to purchase this costume. Those debating what to put on within the National Assembly have a alternative, certainly. They can afford to spotlight these sorts of topics which solely curiosity them. They despise the individuals they declare to symbolize. »
His mother and father handed on to him a style for work. His father, a florist, took him to Rungis at 4 a.m. in his Renault Nevada. Moreover, Léon Deffontaines wish to return there throughout the marketing campaign – the final time, he was 6 years previous. Growing up, he wore the garments of his 61 cousins. He additionally remembers the highway that separated the stylish Jesuit highschool La Providence – the place Emmanuel Macron and François Ruffin studied – from the varsity campus, the place he went. An actual “social border”, in keeping with him.
He loathes the left which solely speaks to bourgeois graduates: “I came across Aurélien Le Coq [député de La France insoumise, NDLR] in a demonstration against pension reform and he told me that young people aspired to radicalism. But I answered him: “Which young people?” Well-born, over-educated younger individuals who dwell in massive cities… Who will discuss to different younger individuals, aside from Jordan Bardella? » Most of his sentences start with “this won't please the rest of the left, but”, which he at all times says with a mischievous smile.
“It’s not going to please the rest of the left, but”
Before working, on the age of 18, on the native Subway, he helped with homework within the northern districts of Amiens. “It's not going to please the rest of the left, but I saw 6-year-old girls, veiled from head to toe, who were forbidden to see me because I was a young man. In the Republic, it’s a problem,” he assures. He doesn’t mince his phrases and doesn’t spare his left-wing “comrades”. His opponents – Marie Toussaint (Ecologists), Raphaël Glucksmann (PS-Place publique), Manon Aubry (LFI) – already sit within the European Parliament, in Strasbourg, and know one another very nicely. He doesn't know them and takes the chance to shoot a number of arrows at them.
At 28 years previous (he is identical age as Jordan Bardella), he was propelled to the center of political life by Fabien Roussel, nationwide secretary of his get together, who trusted him. “I took the plunge, but I learned to swim very quickly,” he smiles. He doesn't actually like Paris, its cloud of air pollution, and wish to sleep somewhat extra – typically he can solely sleep three hours an evening – however he has to get used to it. And he nonetheless manages to flee, sometimes, from political jousts.
With his canine Tempo, he runs round ten kilometers each Sunday alongside the towpath which runs alongside the Somme, close to his residence. He typically talks about racing with Roussel, “a very good runner”. During the presidential marketing campaign, the communist candidate unwinded by tackling the steep slopes of the Buttes-Chaumont park. Whenever he can, Léon Deffontaines has a barbecue together with his childhood mates. But don’t inform Sandrine Rousseau! He additionally does somewhat biking sometimes. On June 9, the younger candidate hopes to gather at the least 5% of the votes. In any case, he guarantees to “give everything”. And, earlier than getting again to work – its cardinal worth, as we could have understood –, he goes to eat a sandwich.
https://www.lepoint.fr/politique/leon-deffontaines-le-discours-d-une-partie-de-la-gauche-m-enerve-au-plus-haut-point-23-03-2024-2555750_20.php