Can we still tackle obscurantism when we are on the left? There is reason to doubt, given the torrent of indignation and insults aroused in recent days by Assan Lakehoul's secular speech. Near Mariannethe general secretary of the Young Communists (MJCF) returns to this affair, regretting that his political family has abandoned one of its pillars: the fight against religious fundamentalism.
Marianne: For several days, you have been the victim of insults for having denounced the retrograde comments of a Muslim influencer who is widely followed on the networks. Can you come back to this story?
Assan Lakehoul: It all started with the plan to combat the rise in violence among young people that we unveiled after the recent announcements from Gabriel Attal, disconnected from realities on the ground. Among our measures aimed at better supporting young people, there is in particular the fight against communitarianism and religious obscurantism.
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It is by developing this point on the BFMTV set (this Wednesday April 24, Editor's note) that someone came across me on social networks. Among the lot, there are strict Muslims, traditional Catholics and, of course, the extreme right. Nothing very surprising. But there is also a whole section of so-called left-wing (or even far-left) activists, so-called rebellious, who attacked the secular discourse that I hold and which, in my opinion, is one of our pillars .
What are your proposals to combat violence among young people?
It's a complex problem, so we have to play on all sides. On the one hand, the right and the far right think that it is only a question of authority. They lie. On the other hand, part of the left believes that it would be enough to recruit teachers. She is wrong. We are convinced that no isolated shock measure will be able to resolve this phenomenon.
“There is also a left-wing response to the scourge of drugs. »
This obviously involves public services, but also the fight against the resurgence of religion and drug trafficking. A juvenile delinquent is above all a young person in danger. We therefore need more resources for social assistance for children, more educators, more social workers, more resources at school. We must also tackle head-on the issue of sexist and sexual violence, which we rarely talk about when we deal with insecurity.
There is also a left-wing response to the scourge of drugs. Attack the source, the big guys, rather than hunting down small dealers, which doesn't change the problem. Provide resources to the police and justice. Trace the financing… By doing all this, we will perhaps realize that there are banks that are too lax if not complicit, but also countries, like Morocco, which play a considerable role in this.
What kind of insults do you receive and how do you analyze this situation?
I was treated “ Arab service “, “collaborator”, that kind of thing. Today, many activists only play politics with excess and provocation. These people are having fun, taking it all for a game, while we are fighting for our beliefs. What revolts and shocks me is that part of the left is adopting these classic intimidation methods of the far right.
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If this violence is even more rampant online, it has concrete repercussions in real life. During recent protests, slogans like “ Everyone hates Fabien Roussel (national secretary of the French Communist Party).” Last year, on May 1st, the PCF (French Communist Party) stand was also attacked.
Some even go so far as to compare you to far-right figures like Damien Rieu. How do you take it?
I find it terrible. They also compared Fabien Roussel to Jacques Doriot… It's pathetic, it dishonors them and the left at the same time.
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Is this not proof that denouncing the ravages of religious fundamentalism, or even the rise in violence, is becoming more and more difficult on the left?
I'm not going to be tongue-in-cheek: I think above all that it's becoming impossible for part of the management of Rebellious France. They give credence to the famous thesis of the two irreconcilable lefts by abandoning fundamental principles of our political movement.
Moreover, you also denounce Christian fundamentalism. A priori, a not very Damien Rieu-compatible point of view…
Of course. And besides, the two religious influencers I denounced responded to me. The Muslim preacher made a video, while Abbot Raffray commented on my post. What's funny to point out is that their answers overlap. Which clearly shows that it’s the same subject. There is a link between the political extreme right, traditionalist Catholics and Muslim fundamentalists. We denounce them all for the reactionary ideology that they embody.
“They would like to lock us into a medieval society. »
They advocate a sexist and patriarchal worldview, give lessons on how women should live or how young people should behave… In short, they would like to lock us into a medieval society and there again, that has a direct impact on real life .
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Recently, we had small identity groups who came out to have a riot in the name of Christian and French values. But also a teenager killed because he was discussing sex with his girlfriend or a young woman who died because of her “ reputation “. We must clearly see that these online religious discourses make it possible to justify and legitimize this violence.
Why do you think your political family and the left in general must be intransigent on these subjects?
Already, because secularism is an intrinsically left-wing value. It has been appropriated by the extreme right, even though the latter is anything but secular and republican. And if they can make people believe the opposite, it is in particular because nature abhors a vacuum and the left has abandoned its battle for emancipation and against all forms of domination. The Internationalit is: “Neither God, nor Caesar, nor tribune”.
“Their left Tolbiac, their left Rennes-II or Mirail, it is very small. »
We also have a fundamental disagreement with LFI on the question of the balance of power and the role we want to play. We think that a useful left is a majority left. They, on the contrary, want to radicalize their electorate, divide the youth and, ultimately, divide society on bad bases, which are not class bases at all. It's very dangerous.
At the PCF, we are not interested in embodying a left that only speaks to city centers and large universities. Their left Tolbiac, their left Rennes-II or Mirail, she is very small, she will never go anywhere. This is what I also call the navel-gazing left, which only aspires to preach to the convinced. Personally, I did not commit to being in opposition my whole life. I want to be able to win so I can really change people’s lives.
