Defeated at the polls, where they failed to reach 10%, and left behind by the socialists and greens who refused an electoral agreement for the second round, the FdG candidates, lacking institutional presence, are forced to demonstrate creativity and innovation if they want their ideas to be carried by an audible voice.
The electoral outcome is bitter: “After the municipal elections, the Left Front finds itself without representation on the Nice municipal council. This situation, the result of small political calculations, deprives more than 6,000 citizens of Nice of a presence on the council, but it does not diminish our resolve,” said Robert Injey, spokesperson for the trio he forms with Roseline Grac and Arthur Leduc, leading the group “Humain d’abord,” which wants to go beyond the electoral moment.
Nevertheless, the flame is not extinguished, and Robert Injey continues: “And it is with great determination that we will implement unprecedented forms to continue acting in the interest of the people of Nice, to create a genuine opposition outside the municipal council, and to continue to promote alternative proposals.
This resolve is reinforced by two things: On one hand, a right that, strong from the municipal results, wants to seize all power to implement policies of social regression. On the other hand, François Hollande, who, far from heeding the message from the ballots and the massive abstention/sanction by left-wing voters, has decided to amplify and accelerate his submission to MEDEF and the markets.
The future? The communist leader says: “In this situation, there is no question for the forces of the Left Front (PCF, PG, Ensemble!) and the individuals who participated in the ‘Nice, Human First’ campaign to stand idly by and wait.”
The first initiative taken is the implementation of one of the campaign proposals, that of a Citizen Observatory. “There is no democracy without oversight. Today, the voice of citizens is confiscated in favor of ‘expert expression’ whose independence is relative. And it is not the gimmick like the ‘Ethics Committee’ that C. Estrosi will set up during the next council that will return power to the citizens.”
“Our ambition is quite different. We want to establish an Observatory to exert citizen control over the affairs of the city and the Metropolis, the budgets, public services, public service delegations (DSP), and everything that affects the daily lives of the people of Nice.
We will establish this Observatory with individuals who refuse the opacity surrounding the management of local authorities today. The distancing of decision-making centers from the citizens, with the Metropolis for example, makes it increasingly difficult for a large number of people to take ownership of the issues and decisions made.
Our concept of democracy does not limit itself to the duration of an election campaign. It is daily that we want to return power to the people of Nice.
The effective establishment of this Observatory will take place in mid-June.”
The second initiative is the holding in October of the first City Assemblies.
These Assemblies have three objectives:
- Evaluate the management and achievements of the current team.
- Enrich alternative proposals for Nice and the Metropolis.
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Decide on our priority actions.
These Assemblies must be an opportunity for the people of Nice to regain their voice.
The first attempt in a few days or weeks: “Finally, we will take an active role in the upcoming European campaign, in which we will carry the same values as those carried during the municipal elections: solidarity, ecology, active democracy, and equality of rights,” says Robert Injey.
Let’s hope that voters better understand the message…
