Cécile Dumas is the first “non-Niçoise” woman elected to lead the Azurean communists. While she lacks the stereotype of the revolutionary “comrade,” her political convictions and social fiber are evident from her very first words.
“We want Nicolas Sarkozy to be defeated at the next presidential election: his liberal policy is bad for workers who pay the highest price. But we must also avoid a social-democratic drift, which also does not take into account fairness and social justice. Our goal is to return to a real leftist policy.”
Originally from Allier, after a professional stint in the Paris area, this math teacher based in Antibes has put her passion for politics at the service of the Communist Party on the Mediterranean coast as a simple activist.
Here she is, a few years later, occupying the number 1 position succeeding Robert Injey, who is taking on national responsibilities.
“Of course, when I joined the Communist Party, I never thought I would get here. Even though I had always voted for this party, I hadn’t considered pursuing active politics. I had rather opted for unionism. But Jospin’s defeat to Le Pen in the 2002 presidential elections was the trigger for me.”
“I view this role as one of animating the activists within the framework of the different sections. In addition to this coordination activity, it is necessary to be in the field. So I opted for part-time work in order to also have a social life.”
Nice Premium: What is the state of your relations with the Azurean socialists?
Cécile Dumas: We continue to debate, to discuss. We have points of disagreement on several things, and the positions of PS elected officials who readily “co-manage” with the UMP, like Damiani and Daunis, pose political problems between us. However, we want to continue debating with all the left, and we do it regularly.
For us, the objective is clear. In this department, as in the country, our political battle is against the right and the far right. But we also want to participate in building a left that has the ambition to change people’s lives without starting to say 9 months before the 2012 elections that rigor and austerity will be inevitable!
NP: The Communist Party has decided to support the Front de Gauche’s candidate for the 2012 presidential election: is this an ideological choice or a tactical one?
CD: The Communist Party has in no way decided to be a supporter for the 2012 presidential election. We made a political choice, thoroughly debated within our party, to give a new impetus to the Front de Gauche, of which we are the initiators.
This political choice includes the shared popular program which outlines the main lines that the Front de Gauche candidates will defend in the legislative and presidential elections.
There is an agreement with our different partners on the legislative elections, the candidacy of Jean-Luc Mélenchon for the presidential election, and the will to run a collective campaign.
This choice is not at all strategic but an ideological and political choice: a choice to bring together the social transformative left, a choice that is not new since the Front de Gauche is now 3 years old.
Let me remind you that we have a Front de Gauche group in the region and a Front de Gauche MEP in our constituency.
This choice genuinely represents our desire to establish the Front de Gauche and its societal project in the political landscape of our country.
