He had been silent since May. Journalist and former legislative candidate Taha Bouhafs posted a six-page long letter on his Twitter account on Tuesday. His first public speech since he announced that he was withdrawing his candidacy for the legislative elections in the Rhône. His first speech, too, since France Insoumise revealed that an internal investigation had been opened after accusations of harassment and sexual violence against him.
Last May, the follow-up committee against sexist and sexual violence internal to LFI had been seized against the activist, and, a few days later, Taha Bouhafs had been heard on the accusations concerning him by Mathilde Panot and Clémentine Autain. He was then told that “due to the seriousness of the alleged facts”, he might not be invested. The same evening, he announced on Twitter his renunciation.
“On Monday May 9, Clémentine Autain announced to me (…) that the decision had been made to divest me”, recounts Taha Bouhafs in his letter published on Tuesday, ensuring that he was not confronted with accusations, contrary to what said the release of France Insoumise.
” In a state of shock “
He also assures that Clémentine Autain would have explained to him, during their interview, that he was paying “perhaps for the others” but that the decision to oust him was a “political bias”.
The activist claims to have been “in a state of shock” at the end of his meeting with the deputy, recalling that he was at that time facing “an unprecedented campaign of media destruction”. In his letter, he explains that Clémentine Autain offered to say that he was withdrawing from elsewhere because of the racist attacks he was undergoing, which he initially refused to do. Before, finally, to accept. The May 10 statement did indeed refer to “a storm of attacks”.
After this context, Taha Bouhafs complains, in his missive, of the suspension of the action of the monitoring committee against gender-based and sexual violence and asks for “a fair and equitable procedure”.