“Macron does the number of “Captain Planet””
A few hours before the nomination of the left-wing candidates for the NUPES in Aubervilliers, the EELV mayor of Lyon Grégory Doucet answered our questions. According to him, if Jean-Luc Mélenchon has all his legitimacy to become Prime Minister, he deplores the role of “Captain Planet” that Emmanuel Macron gives himself.
Paris Match. The PS has therefore also validated the agreement with Jean-Luc Mélenchon. Are you satisfied with this union?
Gregory Doucet. I am proud of my party, of our partners. Proud that this national agreement is a success and mobilizes the French people. I know all the hope that he will pimp. In 2020, we were able to win Lyon collectively with the whole left. By being well ahead of the presidential election on the left, Jean-Luc Mélenchon had a responsibility to assume leadership to propose a framework for an alliance of unity and unity, that’s how an election is. The result is that the great left and ecological movements have decided to engage together with the impetus of the Popular Union.
Some members of the Socialist Party like François Hollande, the mayor of Nantes Stephane Le Foll, the mayor of montpellier Michel Delafosse or the President of the Occitanie region Carole Delga, have decided not to support NUPES. Do you understand this choice?
I am happy that we are together in my political movement. We made the right choice, in responsibility. In Lyon, we support each other with a goal: to change public policies to make Lyonnaises and Lyonnais proud of their city. It must be the same for France. Then, it is a very particular context: humanity has never been in this situation of having to wonder about its own survival. When we agree on the essentials and when we are aware of the challenges of the context… We know that humanity must face the challenge of its survival while a certain number of political movements for various reasons and various decide to ignore it. Emmanuel Macron is the number of “Captain Planet”, their responsibility is theirs. Some invent differences to save appearances and maintain an identity that is not the important subject. Competent ideas more than parties. I don’t have the feeling that we are dissolving our ideas, we are forming a coalition.
But then if you have such similar ideas, why not join forces with Jean-Luc Mélenchon in the presidential election? He only missed 1.2% to be in the 2nd round in place of Marine Le Pen, your candidate Yannick Jadot won 4.6% of the vote…
The presidential election was an important election where you choose a person, you need a political offer that could be varied. I am also in favor of proportional representation, but that is another subject. Suddenly the legislative is to govern with an Assembly that aims to represent the diversity of French society. Macron presides, the left governs. It seems to me rich and enriching to unite. I like the term coalition, because we are in a very different election.
To unite, we had to make concessions. What concessions on the part of environmentalists and what concessions on the rebellious side? Europe is a subject of division?
We tell a lot of history around the European question, some seek to divide but we on Europe, we assume our European citizenship. Our party is particularly integrated around European construction because on certain very global issues (global warming, collapse of biodiversity), we need European action which gives us a greater capacity for action. If you look at the direction of the votes in the European Parliament of the rebellious MEPs and our party, we often vote in the same direction. If our friends put their finger on malfunctions, we agree. The term disobedience often used by France Insoumise is a term that has been put forward and used by ecologists and other movements, not just on the left! Even François Bayrou said to say “damn” to Europe… The LREM deputies want to like the protection of marine areas, they even made an amendment to the European Parliament. Rebellious and environmentalists voted against. The macronists voted for and against in this amendment. We can clearly see that LREM has no backbone when it comes to protecting the planet.
Yannick Jadot is supported on France Inter on April 26 a union on the left with Jean-Luc Mélenchon. But since then, he has been very discreet in the media. Some observers said that his name had been mentioned for Matignon or to integrate the next government of Emmanuel Macron. As in the PS, aren’t there two irreconcilable currents within EELV?
The keen observers of the environmental movements would say that within the movement there are more than two currents… But there is consensus to say that in the movement, we want a union and that requires obtaining guarantees on certain subjects. But it can differ between some people on the extent and the nature of the subjects. Yannick Jadot spoke to warn about the position of the rebellious on Europe, it fed the negotiators in their work with our friends LFI. I imagine that he supports the approach… Does he support 100% of the agreement obtained? I am unable to tell you. Yannick Jadot does not have his tongue in his pocket, if he wanted to say something, he would have said it. We can imagine on a human level that when we have led a demanding presidential campaign, it is good enough to take a few days off. I hope he enjoys it!
In Lyon, the constituencies for the legislative elections will be represented by NUPES candidates from ecologists. Are you there for something in this decision?
I said very early on that identities had to be respected and territorial political characteristics had to be represented. It is normal that there are elected environmentalists, there is a strong vote for elected environmentalists in Lyon. To take this into account seems to me to be political pragmatism. Let me highlight the situation in Lyon: we govern with the PS, LFI, EELV and even other leftist movements in Lyon. On this culture of gathering. If it works here, it can work nationally.
Ecologists will only be present in 100 out of 577 constituencies. Your party won only 4% in the presidential election but it has been present in many cities since the last municipal elections: Bordeaux, Annecy, Poitiers, Grenoble, here in Lyon… You also a very good score in the Europeans in 2019. Don’t you deserve more constituencies?
I have confidence in negotiation. Things went like that, the presidential election was a cutter, you have to look at this result objectively. We are in a historic moment where things bigger than ourselves are being played out. The NUPES is not simply France Insoumise, EELV, the PS and the PCF added, it is something else. It is also, through the strength of the rally, an opportunity and a new hope to counter this harmful macronism and this extreme right which leads us into the wall.
From the between-two-rounds of the presidential election, Jean-Luc Mélenchon campaigned around his person at Matignon. At a time when left-wing parties advocate verticality, does the vision of the rebellious suit you? Jean-Luc Mélenchon Prime Minister, is this possible in your opinion?
I respect Jean-Luc Mélenchon a lot. He has a commitment to political life, ideas, convictions and values that are fiercely anchored to the body. It’s an assurance that he won’t deviate and leave I don’t know where. It’s reassuring when you form a collective, guarantor of values and orientations. A Prime Minister is above all a team leader, he does not govern alone. But what I retain is the opportunity to govern together. If Jean-Luc Mélenchon becomes Prime Minister, he will have rebels in his government but also environmentalists and socialists! Within my majority in Lyon, I have always wanted each and everyone to have their place, always in the interest of the people of Lyon and Lyon. It can be an inspiration, a model. It is the plural gathering that is a wealth and I have no doubt about Jean-Luc Mélenchon’s ability to know how to best use this plural diversity to govern the country.