2023-05-18 12:09:23
AIn terms of political violence, the attack that took place on Monday May 15 in the city center of Amiens, shortly after an interview with Emmanuel Macron in the TF1 8 p.m. newspaper, marks a worrying escalation. In the climate of tension created by the pension reform, elected officials are no longer the only ones to suffer intimidation, threats or manifestations of hatred. This time, it was the first lady’s great-nephew, Brigitte Macron, who was targeted. Aged 30, Jean-Baptiste Trogneux was assaulted as he returned to his home, located above the chocolate factory he owns, in Amiens. He was taken to task and molested by several people on the sidelines of a casserole. Eight were arrested, three placed in pre-trial detention until their trial, postponed to June 5. A teenager will be presented to the children’s judge, four other people have been released.
In the political world, the condemnation of this unspeakable act was unanimous, from the ranks of La France insoumise to those of the National Rally. After having “protested” against this aggression, Jean-Luc Mélenchon saw fit to ask Emmanuel Macron and “Madame to do the same for our attacked or threatened friends, without reserving their concern only for Zemmour when he was molested”. The leader of the “rebellious” would have won not to finasse, as did the other elected members of his movement. Whatever the profile of the perpetrators of the attack – young marginalized people who were not on their first attack, according to the first elements of the investigation – their behavior calls for unqualified condemnation.
A negation of the debate
What is at stake here goes well beyond political positions. Violence is a negation of debate and argument. Violence summons the most primitive instincts and annihilates reason. Violence threatens the foundations of the social contract by pushing some to let go without restraint, others to repress without counting, with the risk that police excesses contribute to the rise of tensions. Each time a boundary is crossed in violence, democracy is the first victim.
The Amiens event comes as the political world is still reeling from the resignation of Yannick Morez, mayor (various right) of Saint-Brevin-les-Pins (Loire-Atlantique), a few weeks after the arson who targeted his home. For months, the city councilor had been subjected to threats from the far right, linked to his support for a project to move and extend a reception center for asylum seekers. The late reaction of the government, which announced, Wednesday, May 17, a toughening of sentences in the event of attacks against elected officials, does not compensate for the very great loneliness in which Yannick Morez found himself.
Since the “yellow vests” movement, our political system has known its fragility: a large number of citizens feel abandoned, others think that their voice does not count. It is therefore imperative to reflect on a better functioning of the institutions and urgently to promote a closer association of citizens with public affairs. But there is also a dark side to the political fight, which feeds on conspiratorial discourse and calls for hatred, especially on social networks, against a background of contestation of representative democracy. It is against these eminently dangerous excesses that we must now erect an impassable wall. The message must be clear and distinct: the refusal of the trivialization of violence.
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