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Barely had the presidential elections concluded, a new campaign is gearing up in France for the legislative elections scheduled for June 11 and 18, 2017. In the Alpes-Maritimes department, nine deputies are to be elected across nine constituencies. In the 4th constituency, seven candidacies have been filed to date.
Meet Michaël Albin and Virginie Robino-Gauci, two faces of renewal but also of a humanistic left-wing continuity. A young man and woman committed to building the future and grounded in reality, who will officially launch their campaign on Thursday, May 18 at 8 PM at the Hélice Theatre in Contes in a rather original manner.
Nice Premium: You wanted a campaign launch that’s completely different from anything seen so far?
Michaël Albin and Virginie Robino-Gauci: Yes, we chose to do it in an original way but especially in a friendly and convivial atmosphere. An electoral campaign should not be a period when those who think they know approach the voters asserting pre-scripted slogans and crushing them with their personal ambition. On the contrary, it’s a strong moment of exchange!
Almost all who will host this evening are novices, like us, in an election of this level. We want to make politics with and for the people around us, so what could be more normal than inviting them to be the actors.
There will be interventions with political content, common sense, humanity, artists, and a good strong dose of optimism. This campaign launch is the work of a team made up of men and women from diverse political, cultural, and social sensitivities from across the constituency who believe in a different project centered around Humanity.
NP: Why are you entering the race for the National Assembly?
MA and VR-G: More than a race, it’s a battle.
A battle of ideas where life projects should confront each other.
It’s too rarely the case as we saw during the presidential election where cockfights and the “starification” of candidates followed each other, too often obscuring the core issues.
The level of this campaign was raised by interventions from Jean-Luc Mélenchon who placed citizens’ issues at the heart of discussions and pedagogically presented a complete program. Our ambition in this election is identical: to take the time to listen to the residents of this beautiful constituency where we live and to share with as many people as possible our ambition for living well together.
Unlike many deputies, we will not be among those who vote on laws in the Assembly and then lament their effects on the ground. We do not want to be representatives of a political party bent to its directives but rather ardent defenders of the citizens of our territory by also proposing laws.
Being a novice in politics does not mean being naive! It’s urgent to bring real life into this institution of the Republic and to push out these “professionals of the post.”
To this end, we commit to not holding multiple mandates over time, performing only a single 5-year mandate, thus allowing other citizens to step in.
NP: During these presidential elections, the FN played for the win in the 4th constituency of the Alpes-Maritimes. How do you explain that?
MA: The FN and the FN vote are two different things.
The Le Pen dynasty’s party aims to usurp the tricolor flag by emphasizing nationalism/patriotism, now with a veneer of a social and protective aspect.
When I was a kid, I learned about the story of Little Red Riding Hood, Grandma, and the wolf.
Either I haven’t grown up, or the story is contemporary.
This party grew on antisocial, racist, xenophobic, anti-Semitic foundations but especially favorable to wild capitalism and big corporate greed.
In essence, nothing has changed since with every expression of high schoolers, students, workers, small business owners, or retirees, the FN either remains silent or is critical (latest example during the mobilizations against the El Khomri-Macron law).
Further illustrations, in the European parliament where it steals millions of euros in subsidies but refuses to oppose anti-social directives, or denounces tax fraud while being itself implicated in the Panama Papers affair. As if populism never affects populists!
But the truth is relentless, and every citizen will understand the true nature of this party which is going to change its name as a beast changes its coat.
I come to the difference between the FN and its electorate, a party that only thrives on opposition, enriching it financially, whereas the vast majority of these voters—and the indefinite article is chosen deliberately—are suffering in society or disappointed by previously conducted policies.
I can understand their anger towards Europe and its financial and monetary institutions, their incomprehension towards wars for control of energy resources beyond our borders—whose consequences we live on national territory—their disgust in front of political figures, including locals, hopping from one badge to another to keep feeding from the trough…
A host of reasons that must not be ignored but instead tackled with frankness and countered with constructive and unifying proposals.
However, I hold no leniency towards simplistic and malevolent analyses aimed solely at dividing the nation into two castes, the good and the bad French, based on social, ethnic, or religious principles.
What unites us must be stronger than what divides us, especially when times are tough.
Let’s not employ the same recipes as the FN by stigmatizing an electorate but rather strive to deny these nauseating theses an echo within society by addressing the ailments at their source.
NP: You supported Jean-Luc Mélenchon’s campaign, what are the ambitions of this presidential candidate that most attracted you?
MA and VR-G: On this, we’re resolved and tenacious! Because if some discovered Jean-Luc Mélenchon in 2017, we’ve been journeying together for quite some time…
The story began with the campaign against the 2005 European treaty, led with other progressive forces around a common will to defeat an ultra-liberal and anti-social Europe.
Recall that the only argument from the FN was a NO to the Treaty synonymous with a NO to Turkey’s entry… without any social or societal reference.
That was our first stone laid towards building a political force truly anchored to the left and responding to social and human aspirations.
This continued in 2012 with Jean-Luc Mélenchon’s candidacy and good results in a context where the useful vote was Hollande and his team’s unique argument.
Years pass, and convictions strengthened around a shared candidacy while maintaining our respective commitments.
Jean-Luc Mélenchon’s candidacy could have easily brought us to the second round if some vacillations on either side hadn’t slowed the massive involvement of all in the campaign and if, especially, B. Hamon’s candidacy—so desired by F. Hollande and E. Macron—hadn’t thwarted our candidate’s victory in the first and second rounds. We hope no one is fooled by this charade orchestrated for nearly two years by the tenant of the Élysée. Voters have to sanction these manipulations!
Back to the candidate we supported, he convinced us both by his human qualities and his abilities to lead our country and build a coherent life project, aiming for a guided direction for our nation. This canvas of proposals is so comprehensive and precise that it gives him true credibility.
An energy transition generating new jobs, coupled with new consumption modes, an overhaul of the political system with the VIth Republic, along with fairer taxation including for businesses, lifelong worker protection (studies, work, training, retirement), and the end of military “follower-ship” worldwide for profit wars from which we only collect collateral damage.
We are not in belief but rather in trust, trust in a better living together, hoping future generations benefit from it happily. This ambition is well-alive!
Our candidacy follows this path, in the continuity of Jean-Luc Mélenchon’s.
NP: If tomorrow you were a deputy, what would be your first intention?
MA: Our intention would be to reunite with those who participated in this extraordinary human adventure, to celebrate this victory for the inhabitants of our constituency who aspire to live better. Effectively, to quickly get to work on implementing our project, first assembling with other deputies who share this ambition and respecting the planet.
The sense of community remains paramount in our eyes.
We will not hesitate to solicit all who, like us, wish to bring life into politics by granting more space to humanity.
To be continued on https://www.facebook.com/LHumain-dabord-L%C3%A9gislatives-2017-4%C3%A8me-circonscription-du-06-1266799333374138/?fref=ts
