“The labor left is back,” says Léon Deffontaines, communist candidate in the European elections

Léon Deffontaines, 28 ans, s'inscrit dans la lignée du secrétaire national du Parti communiste Fabien Roussel. MAXPPP – Thomas Padilla

At 28, the head of the communist list is struggling in the campaign to stand out, on the left, "between the radicalism of Jean-Luc Mélenchon and the liberalism of Raphaël Glucksmann". He also attacks Jordan Bardella and the RN, “falsifiers of the social question”. He advocates "less Europe" and presents itself as "the profitable vote" for the left. Interview.

You wrote to Colombe, this Perpignan voter of the National Rally and beneficiary of the RSA whose testimony was widely publicized. What did the left, and in particular the Communist Party, miss to lose these voters??

I say it clearly: the left has not been up to the task lately. We were very divided on social debates, where Colombes, and more generally the workers of this country, expected the left to come together on social issues. This is precisely what I want to do in this European campaign: refocus the debate around the real concerns of the French. Because if we don't do it, the extreme right does and that's what allows it to grab voters, people who, objectively for some of them, would be more likely to even to vote left. We must therefore revisit questions of purchasing power, the fight against unemployment, reindustrialization, the priorities of any left-wing political project. And then, we must reach out to those voters who either abstain or vote for National Rally. The hand and the ear, to understand what we missed and why they vote RN. I have discussions with these voters to show them that the RN is in reality a forger of the social question, that it will in no way respond to the ills of which they are victims today because they voted against the salary increase in the national assembly. The left, today, spares Jordan Bardella far too much. Me, I'm not afraid to confront him, to debate with him. We will then see who best defends workers in this country.

You have set, among your priorities in this campaign, work and purchasing power. How to guide European policy on these subjects ?

We are at the heart of European policies with these subjects. The fight against unemployment, reindustrialization, the defense of public services, these are questions which are partly resolved in the European Parliament. An example: the decline of the public service today, of civil servants who work in disastrous conditions, it is the fault of these austerity rules which were passed both by the socialists and the Macronists. Waves of deindustrialization – 60,000 companies in financial difficulty in France –, are linked to the explosion of electricity bills generated by the European market which indexes our energy, which we nevertheless produce at low cost thanks to our nuclear fleet, on the price of German gas three times more expensive. Our companies face unfair competition from countries around the world, including China, because of free trade agreements and the fact that Europe is incapable of applying protectionism to its borders to save our factories. Today, the eradication of unemployment is therefore a subject that we can partly resolve on a European scale. We must also move away from intra-European competition which is leading to a race to the bottom of our retirement pensions, our salaries and our social rights. Today, companies are blackmailing relocation to Eastern Europe where salaries are 400 euros. per month. And if tomorrow we include Ukraine, Georgia and Moldova which have minimum wages around 200 euros; per month, this will further increase this unfair competition.

Does this mean that we should not integrate Ukraine, even to help it in its war against Russia? ?

These are two very different subjects. On an economic and social level, this would mean the ruin of our farmers and the headlong flight of the little industry we have left. Furthermore, integrating Ukraine would make all the member countries of the European Union co-belligerents in this conflict with a warlike spiral which would have disastrous consequences. We have always defended, in the Communist Party, that we must help the Ukrainians to defend themselves, because it is a sine qua non condition for finding a diplomatic solution to this conflict. If Vladimir Putin is about to roll over kyiv, we will never reopen the negotiating table. On the other hand, if we allow Ukraine to obtain victories on the ground, we will be able to initiate discussions in favor of a just and lasting peace in the region. And to then convince Vladimir Putin to withdraw from the occupied territories of Ukraine, we must ask the question of its neutrality, therefore its non-integration into NATO as well as into the European Union . It is an original, singular voice, with a clear line: that of not becoming a co-belligerent. I do not want to see any French soldier die on Ukrainian soil.

"Reindustrialize the country"

Let's return to economic questions. You assume to say that we need to produce more. This makes you stand out from some of your "comrades" from the left, notably LFI…

What makes our list unique, in fact, is that we do not have the vision of a decreasing model of the economy. If we want to respond to social and environmental challenges, revive our economy, eradicate unemployment, we will have to produce a lot more on national and European territory. This means reindustrializing the country to regain our industrial sovereignty, undertaking work useful for the environment, in particular by massively developing public rail freight, high-speed lines like those of everyday life which make it possible to transport workers to their workplace, as was done in the north of Gard up to Pont-Saint-Esprit. It is also the thermal renovation of buildings. And for all these major works, it will be necessary to produce a lot more energy, electricity in particular, and for it to be decarbonized. This is why we support the nuclear-renewable energy mix which makes it possible to have energy produced all the time, low carbon, controllable and inexpensive.

But producing more, isn't that contradictory with your other priority which is ecology?

On the contrary. The only way to respond to the environmental imperative is to produce more. If greenhouse gas emissions have exploded in recent years, it is because we import much more from the other side of the planet, things that we could produce on national or European territory. Agricultural production of course, but also industrial manufactured products. We must therefore bring production closer to consumption, which implies this massive reindustrialization. With, at the center of all this once again, the nuclear-renewable energy mix. Anti-nuclear activists are environmentalists of the past because they do not respond to all these issues. If we do without nuclear power, we either reopen mines and coal-fired power plants as in Germany, or we switch to 100% renewable, intermittent energy, which makes any useful major works project and reindustrialization impossible.

"They don't care about us"

You say you want to address the victims of Europe, those who voted no in the 2005 referendum. To tell them what? What ;rsquo;we need less Europe ? Get out ?

We obviously must not get out of it, but when I hear political leaders like Raphaël Glucksmann or Emmanuel Macron say that Europe is an opportunity because we have managed to put in place Erasmus, I think they are making fun of us a little, sorry for the term. Because, today, some are perhaps the winners of globalization, notably those who live in large metropolitan centers, but there are all the others and it is a majority of French people, these forgotten people, those despised by Europe, those who saw their factory relocated to Eastern Europe because labor was cheaper there, farmers put into competition with the world because of free trade agreements, these people who live in suburbs or rural areas who see their public services deteriorate. Worse than that, this Europe which allows itself to judge regional cultural practices and legislates, for example, on hunting. So yes, less Europe and more Europe. A Europe capable of being a lever to act for our public services, the environmental imperative, for our industry.

There is still some good in Europe?

Of course. I am not saying that Europe is not a relevant level. But as it is currently thought of, it is counterproductive and goes against the interests of French workers, those on the land as well as in factories or services. On the other hand, it is essential to regain our food and agricultural sovereignty, provided that we reorient the Common Agricultural Policy, cease free trade agreements and allow resources and aid to farmers to be better redistributed , particularly towards small farms so that each farmer can make a decent living from their work. This is the condition for regaining our industrial sovereignty.

The polls today place you at 3%. Reaching the 5% mark is still possible ?

I note that all left-wing voters could vote for the four lists present (PS, LFI, Ecologists, PCF, Editor's note). I want to convince them to vote for ours. Between the radicalism and excess of Jean-Luc Mélenchon and the liberalism of Raphaël Glucksmann, there is a bulletin which carries the voice of an authentic, popular left, which puts work at the heart of its project and which is neither euro-gaga nor outrageous. I would like to address this orphan left, which no longer feels represented nationally, which is attached to the values ​​of universalism, secularism, but also to abstentionists and RN voters. I think most voters will make their choice in the final days and I am convinced that we will be the list that allows the workers of this country to raise their heads and take back control of everything. The 5% is largely achievable and moreover, I observe a tremor in the polls. Some put us at 4%, we are starting to have real momentum.

"Profitable voting" for the left

Do you not fear being the victim of a temptation to vote usefully, on the left, which would benefit Raphaël Glucksmann ?

I oppose profitable voting. In this proportional election, if our list is 4 %, we have zero elected officials. If we do 5%, we have five. 1% for us means a lot, while for Raphaël Glucksmann it won't do much, maybe not even one more MP. Above all, five more elected officials for the left will be five fewer for the extreme right. And then, a useful vote for what to do? If it is so that Raphaël Glucksmann and the European socialists continue to vote hand in hand with Von der Leyen and Macron's representatives for the return of the rules austerity measures, it will not be very useful for French workers.

Beyond the European issue, is this election not a turning point in the reconstruction of the French left?

I indeed believe so. First, we observe an end to the hegemony of Jean-Luc Mélenchon and we see political reconstructions. The gathering that we are currently leading, carried by the voice of Fabien Roussel, is that of the labor left who wants the workers of this country to be able to live with dignity from their work without being obliged to beg Caf for an activity bonus. This left is back, since the presidential election, it is coming together, expanding. It is a new offer which intends to exert all its weight to political reconstitution and which is located between the excesses of Mélenchon and the liberalism of Glucksmann. This left which does not betray the workers will be in the majority tomorrow.

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