You may have encountered them in your respective neighborhoods, marching in order, covering your electoral plot, partisan leaflets in hand. They are the socialist activists. They come to meet you and explain how the primaries work, trying to spark debate wherever the conversation can start.
Leaflets on the primaries in hand, pamphlets in favor of Martine Aubry under the arm. Confusion of genres? No, it is just that the socialist activists present on the ground are mostly Aubry supporters, and it’s probably not by chance. “Martine Aubry is the only one who wanted a real grassroots campaign,” Anne-Julie Clary explains to us. And to bring the political debate back to the street, it requires some active forces.
Starting with the youth, Gauthier from the group “Young people with Aubry 06” doesn’t hesitate to campaign in unusual places and at unusual hours, such as in the Old Nice… at 3 am! “It’s more to show ourselves and mark our presence on the ground.” A presence also noted at high school exits, as the primaries could provide a young militant base for the presidential elections. Overall, the primary objective of handing out flyers is mainly informative: to talk about the primaries and provide citizens with information on their functioning. Ideally, at the pace of three actions per week to follow national directives, it’s important to stay consistent for better visibility.
Today, it’s in the Assalit neighborhood, on Raimbaldi Boulevard, that Yann Librati, municipal councilor, Vincent, Nicole, Louis, and the others are concentrating. Anne-Julie Clary, regional councilor, as someone who never shies away from going towards people, handles remarks like “Go to hell because our pensions are zero!” or other such comments that greet “Hello, we’re from the PS regarding the primaries …”. “The ‘they’re all corrupt’, we hear quite often yes,” Anne-Julie Clary tells us with a smile, accustomed to this exercise after more than 10 years on the ground.
The youth of Assalit street
Arriving at a snack bar bakery, they find four young people on the terrace, and the discussion begins. By expressing their feeling of being on the fringes, of not being listened to: “the right is for the old and the rich,” they extend an olive branch to the activists. “Here for us, there’s nothing. Young people are hired on fixed-term contracts, as extras, but in the end, nothing, I lost 2 years like that,” explains Mohamed. Youth employment is one of the pillars of Martine Aubry’s program. The flyer hit the mark. “Did you see that?” his table neighbor whispers, showing it to him.
“In town, there’s nothing to do, they destroyed a building, we were promised a playground and eventually, they put a parking lot there.” This feeling that nothing is done for them, Yann Librati counters by saying, “You’re fed up with this lousy policy (sic), well stand behind us! The problem is that you don’t vote, while the fascists have already voted by 8:02 am.” There lies the crux of the problem, getting these young people interested in politics, digging beyond easy answers like “we don’t have time” to understand their disinterest. The approach of listening to the media on such subjects does not seem to be in their habits, if no one reaches out to them, they evidently would not vote.
As the activists leave, all opinions are present around the table. There’s the one who insists: “Ségolène is the only one who can do something,” those who mock, “That’s the question you ask the elected official: in your opinion, who should we vote for?” and those who are warming up to the idea: “1€ for registering in the primaries is nothing compared to what voting can achieve” “Yes, I think I will vote,” says Fahmi. The time of “having a choice imposed because of not being informed enough,” according to Anne-Julie Clary’s words seems over for him. And even if his friends don’t hold back from teasing him openly. Though the desire to vote may not germinate in every mind, many should watch the presidential elections with a different perspective following this encounter.
