Created after rebel deputy Adrien Quatennens admitted domestic violence against his former partner and in the face of the lack of reaction from the leaders of several left-wing parties, the Relève féministe collective aims to topple the “aggressor protection system” of the political class and, more broadly, militant circles.
There are over 500 of them, mostly political party activists, and they make up the Relève féministe. The collective was born on Tuesday, September 20, following the Adrien Quatennens case in which domestic violence was found. In a column published by Liberation, they condemn the “system of protection of aggressors in politics” and demand the resignation of the LFI MP from the North.
“Let everything be clear: aggressors and perpetrators of violence cannot represent our political struggles,” write these feminists, including PS spokeswoman Gabrielle Siry-Houari, MeTooThéatre founder Marie Coquille-Chambel, author Klaire does Grr, historian Mathilde Larrère and journalist Elsa Wolinsky .
Their Twitter presence is huge. Many have added the hashtag # RelèveFéministe to their social network name to claim that they are part of a movement that intends to target public organizations and won’t let them miss anything.
The click occurred last Sunday, hours after a press release by rebel deputy Adrien Quatennens, in which he admits that he “beat” his wife, with whom he is divorcing. About 150 activists then meet and start writing the forum: they refuse to let aggressive men lead the party in which they are active, and they do not want the omerta to continue “thanks to accomplices, identified behavior and insidious cowardice.”
Patriarchal society and the phenomenon of “oldfication”
“When a political group has a feminist agenda, especially on women’s rights and the fight against gender-based violence, we have a right to expect it to stop protecting the aggressors and unconditionally support victims of patriarchal violence,” they wrote. The latter in particular condemn “with the strongest force the reaction of Jean-Luc Mélenchon,” who in a tweet of support for Adrien Quatennens on Sunday praised the “courage” of a Northern MP who left the party.
It is Hanane Ameqrane, a working-class anti-racist lesbian feminist activist, who speaks in the face of the surprise the current tsunami can create in militant left and extreme left circles. “It’s a reflection of society as a whole,” he says. “A patriarchal society with the phenomenon of ‘oldfication’ that wants Éric Coquerel, Adrien Quatennens and even Taha Bouhafs to be ‘starry’ and made inviolable and indelible, thus reinforcing the omerta around sexist violence and sexuality in militant circles. “.
“It’s something I’ve seen in all circles – political, association, union – since I started fighting,” laments the one who is also called “Lady Gaza”. She has been an activist since the age of 18 and is now 39.
How are activists going to change things in the parties? “There are already cells that exist in political parties, we cannot replace justice, but we try to create cells that allow victims to listen and take measures that suit them. what happened, ”explains Mathilde Millat, a feminist and NPA (New Anticapitalist Party) activist.
According to the Lyonian activist, these cells do not exist in all political parties, “especially on the right”, and even if they do exist, they do not carry out their activities. “After listening to the vote, we stop there in most cases,” she said, regretting that those accused of gender and sexual violence were not suspended from their mandate and political activities for the time being.
“There are cases of people being accused in all parties,” he continues, referring to well-informed but nonetheless passive political leaders. In the Julien Bayou case, Relève féministe noted in particular that the Europe Écologie-Les Verts (EELV) Sexist and Sexual Violence Commission (VSS) committed suicide on suspicions of domestic and psychological violence committed by the EELV national secretary against his former companion but nothing has happened since then.
Feminist activists raised their questions on Monday about EELV’s country secretary, suspected of sexist violence. Live on France 5’s “C à Vous”, environmental activist Sandrine Rousseau responded by sharing the testimony of former comrade Julien Bayou and reporting accusations of “behavior that may break women’s moral health.”
The case was already known to the party’s VSS listening and investigation department, and Julien Bayou had already spoken to Le Figaro on the subject in July.
The latter withdrew from the group’s co-chairmanship in the National Assembly.
“We also turned our attention to Thomas Portes (LFI) after a few cell seizures, including at CGT, and yesterday we turned our attention to Damien Abad (Renaissance), pointing out that he is still a MP and we have the impression that there will not be a continuation of the rape accusations there.” and the attempted rape of which it is subject, ”laments an NPA activist.
“Activists who talk to each other and exchange names”
In a column, citing a series of political leaders implicated in incidents of gender-based and sexual violence, feminist activists state that “no militant organization can reasonably claim that it does not concern it. It is a system that persists through complicity, identified behavior, insidious cowardice. “
“We refuse to campaign with male perpetrators of violence or their accomplices,” the authors continue, believing that “it is high time to make political space for feminists who fight sexist and sexual violence on a daily basis.”
In left-wing parties “we might get the impression that there is a gap between the NPA and the Génération.s, but these are activists who talk to each other and exchange names,” remembers Mathilde Millat. “It’s like certain families,” adds Hanane Ameqrane, “there are names like, ‘watch out for this uncle, he has wandering hands …’, it’s the same principle.”
And very often things have been known for a long time. “We want more freedom of speech,” concludes Mathilde Millat. “We don’t want it to stay in a feminist environment, we want these things to be known and there are measures that are implemented against the perpetrators of violence.”
As Hanane Ameqrane likes to say: “Military is not essential.” A lesbian feminist activist believes that activists accused of violence must simply leave so that the victims themselves do not have to flee. “Too many activists remained silent or left,” he laments, referring in particular to the case of Samir Elyes, accused of physical and psychological abuse by two activists from the Truth and Justice for Adam collective. “Today, victims must be able to leave by report or remain and witness the departure of the aggressor.”
In militant circles too, shame has to change sides. This is what Mathilde Millat recalls in a series of tweets published the day after the collective was founded. “Being on the left means supporting emancipatory struggles such as the feminist struggle. What discredits the left is not the testimony of the VSS, it is the leaders and parties that are not reacting. “
The only ones responsible are those who commit the violence. And being on the left means supporting emancipatory struggles such as the feminist struggle. What discredits the left is not the WSS testimony, it is the leaders and parties that do not react.
– Mathilde Millat # RelèveFéministe (@MathildeMillat) September 21, 2022
