Manuel Bompard on his appointment as head of LFI: “It’s not a self-appointment but an indirect vote”

Thunderbolt within La France Insoumise. This Thursday, the party inducted its new coordinator … without consulting supporters. The deputy of Bouches-du-Rhône was thus unanimously appointed by the new leadership team of the party founded by Jean-Luc Mélenchon.

The day after the announcement of the measures of the pension reform project in France, Manuel Bompard was invited to the morning of Europe 1 this Wednesday. Asked by Sonia Mabrouk about his legitimacy in his new role, Manuel Bompard denied having been “elected”. The right arm of Jean-Luc Mélenchon estimated to have been appointed “by indirect vote”. “It’s not called self-designation at all,” he dismissed. “I don’t see how that’s a problem.”

Manuel Bompard adds: “There are plenty of associative and political organizations, in which there are structures put in place. At LFI, it works like that. We are designated in a certain number of spaces of the movement. And at Inside, we organize ourselves as we want. We designate a person to coordinate this space.”

Noticeable absences within the party

A first meeting of LFI’s political council, bringing together other officials, will take place on January 16. “This council is intended to meet at least every month and to discuss the strategic orientations of LFI”, explained the coordination body. Manuel Bompard had held the post of party coordinator since the withdrawal in September of Adrien Quatennens, convicted of domestic violence.

The absence, among the 21 members of the “coordination”, of personalities like Alexis Corbière, Clémentine Autain or even François Ruffin triggered the anger of them and part of the militant base in December. “We think that when we defend the Sixth Republic, it’s important to show in our operating model how we also bring democracy to life”, repeated Clémentine Autain on Wednesday, who asked for a “dialogue” for a better representativeness in coordination.