She is a free spirit and proudly claims it. A woman with a heart, she wants to be this and does not hide it. For her, politics is “progress through equality.”
Christiane Taubira, addressing the party representatives and Azure militants, wanted to remind them: “We are left-wing because we recognize ourselves in these values while respecting each individual’s uniqueness.”
She, who is criticized for “doing too much or not enough,” during her stopover in Nice, managed to find the right words and tone to boost the morale of the left-wing socialists and republicans who have had to endure many electoral setbacks recently.
“From Nice, I prefer to think of Simone Veil, René Cassin, or Romain Gary, all three excellent in their actions, and not the current political leaders,” remarked Christiane Taubira with her usual eloquence, acknowledging “that it is not easy to be left-wing in this department” but encouraging them to “hold on” during these challenging times of government action.
As for her ministerial action on reforming civil and criminal justice and the youth justice system, which has sparked much conversation, the Minister was very pedagogical: For civil justice, she reminded us it involves modernizing for greater efficiency. Citizens should be able to exercise their rights in the simplest, easiest, and most accessible manner.
Regarding minors, Christiane Taubira gained the audience’s approval by reminding that while the act should be punished relative to its severity, the sanction must be accompanied by rehabilitation because everything must be done to prevent a young delinquent from remaining one for life, as long as they are given the means to rehabilitate.
Finally, the third aspect, that of criminal justice with the controversy around the “supposed” recidivism. To the critics of the law, the Minister reminds that it is the act being sanctioned, not the person, and that alternative sentences are sometimes more effective than traditional ones.
Finally, as the attendees could witness, Christiane Taubira is a minister in the line of Simone Veil (abortion law), Robert Badinter (abolition of the death penalty), she who has signed her name to the so-called “marriage for all” law.
This may not please everyone, but one must recognize the Minister’s tenacity in the face of the violent demonstrations triggered by conservative Catholic movements and other whimsical figures.
Photo credit: JC Picard
