Presidential. In Toulouse, supporters of Fabien Roussel (PCF) want to “roll back the far right”
Through Anthony Assemat
Published on
Great day of mobilization for the Communists in Toulouse. Thursday, February 17, 2022, Leon Deffontainesthe spokesperson for the PCF candidate Fabien Roussel in the presidential election on Sundays April 10 and 24, 2022, is in the Pink City for a busy day.
Meetings with railway workers, debates with students from the Jean-Jaurès du Mirail University, distribution of food parcels… A Toulouse campaign which ends with a public meeting organized in the Salle du Sénéchal, at 8.30 p.m., in the presence of the departmental head of the PCF in Haute-Garonne (which has about 1,500 members, including a thousand up-to-date contributions) and regional councilor of Occitanie Pierre Lacaze.
The launch of the communist campaign in Toulouse
“It’s like the official launch of Fabien Roussel’s campaign in Toulouse, and we aim to organize about twenty meetings here by the first round“, says Pierre Lacaze to Toulouse news. “Toulouse is a young city, marked on the left. We decided to reach out to young people because few still know who they are going to vote for. This is what Fabien Roussel repeats: young people release creative forces, they must be given the means of emancipation”, declares Léon Deffontaines.
Student income, abolition of Parcoursup…
In his project titled “The France of happy days: project for a social, ecological and republican pact” (which includes six objectives, three means and 180 proposals), Fabien Roussel proposes a student income of 850 euros / month, a massive investment in higher education, the construction of new universities and the abolition of Parcoursup, in particular. “Young people are the lever for change in tomorrow’s society”, continues Léon Deffontaines.
So many proposals that have been declined with young people from Toulouse.
“Good wine, good meat, good cheese…”
But it is not on the question of youth that Fabien Roussel has distinguished himself for a few weeks. But rather on that of gastronomy, which makes a “good buzz” on social networks and with public opinion. Beginning of January 2022, on France 3, declaring that “good wine, good meat, good cheese, for me, is French gastronomy”. To have access to it, you have to have means. And the best way to defend good gastronomy is to have access to it”.
Behind gastronomy, purchasing power
Nothing surprising for the Toulouse elected Pierre Lacaze.
“Healthy and cheap food, like energy, are issues that had been forgotten by the left and that he is carrying in this campaign. But the question of gastronomy collides with that of purchasing power. Fabien Roussel also stands out for his proposal of free driving licenses for young people, the reindustrialization of the country and a political ambition for public services.We assume our relationship to work and are against, for example, universal income. We are concerned with the social, with people’s daily lives. We cover subjects that made the success of the left after the Liberation”.
Ahead of Anne Hidalgo (PS) in the polls
Will the communist candidate be the surprise of this presidential election? His supporters want to believe him and the latest polls are there to reboost them and make them think of the surge of communism. Party in the campaign in the fall of 2021 with 1% of voting intentions, he regularly oscillates between 3 and 5% according to the polls.
The last Rolling Ifop-Fiducial of Wednesday February 16, 2022 placed it, with 3%, ahead of socialist Anne Hidalgo and Christiane Taubira (2.5%), but behind ecologist Yannick Jadot (5%). “Fabien Roussel is still experiencing a lack of notoriety. During the two months that separate us from the first round, our objective is to make it better known and to score points on the left”, explains Léon Deffontaines.
“Reservations among abstainers”
The Communists defend themselves from carrying yet another candidacy on the left, which would be a source of dispersion of the votes of this electorate.
“A lot of people talk about ecology, but we are the only ones to say and affirm that we are on the left. Jean-Luc Mélenchon has never proclaimed it that way. We want to be as high as possible and there are reservations on the left among the abstentionists. Everything is possible in a presidential election”.
“Jean-Luc Mélenchon, too, is far from the second round”
For the support of Fabien Roussel, the rebellious Jean-Luc Mélenchon (at 11% of voting intentions according to the same latest Rolling Ifop-Fiducial survey) would not be the useful vote as could for example say the former Minister of Ecology of François Hollande and ex-PS candidate in the presidential election Ségolène Royal. “Left voters don’t want to hear about meaningful voting. Moreover, Jean-Luc Mélenchon, too, is far from the second round than Fabien Roussel ”, tackles Pierre Lacaze.
The PCF wants to “roll back the far right”
The latter welcomes some national support, like the novelist Nicolas Mathieu, Prix Goncourt 2018, or locals, citing for example the singer Magyd Cherfi. And goes even further when he leans on the other side of the political spectrum. “We embarrass the right and the extreme right, especially in Pas-de-Calais. It is we who are going to push back the extreme right! Moreover, I don’t think Eric Zemmour weighs 14 to 15% of the votes. 35% between him and Marine le Pen, that seems high to me. Look at what happened in the regional elections, the polls said that the RN could win six regions! We are going to fight because France deserves a 14% Fabien Roussel, ”lists Pierre Lacaze.
He has his 500 referrals
Thursday February 17, 2022, according to the last score, Fabien Roussel had collected 529 sponsorships of elected officials and will therefore be able to compete in the 2022 presidential election, while some of his opponents on the left have not yet crossed the fateful bar of 500 sponsorships such as Yannick Jadot, Jean-Luc Mélenchon, Philippe Poutou, Christiane Taubira.
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