Valerie Pécresse SEBASTIEN SORIANO / Le Figaro
A change in the internal regulations could take place by the end of May, increasing the minimum number of elected officials to form a group to 10. What to condemn the communist groups and Insoumis.
“The disappearance of the communist group in Île-de-France, frankly, do you imagine that possible?” Céline Malaisé, president of this group, does not imagine it for a moment. Especially not in the first region of France where the PCF played a historic political role in several departments. However, this is what could happen on May 31 if the twelfth modification of the rules of procedure since the arrival of Valérie Pécresse (LR) at the head of the community, is validated. At the request of the LR and UDI groups, the minimum number of elected members to form a group could indeed be increased from 7 to 10. However, the PCF and LFI groups are currently made up of 7 and 8 elected members respectively.
“A democratic coup”
Céline Malaisé is furious. Without the means to defend the existence of her group in the face of a potentially united majority on the objective of modifying the rules, she can only denounce “a desire to collapse democracy”. “This is not only a problem for our two groups but a real democratic coup”, denounces the president of the Insoumis group, Vianney Orjebin. “This case of regulatory 49.3 intended to silence his opposition is unprecedented in the history of French communities and it is scandalous! If it happens in the first community in France, others will allow themselves to follow in its footsteps, ”went the regional councilor Insoumis. He also ures that “many right-wing elected officials are shocked”.
In the entourage of Valérie Pécresse, we readily ume the idea of restraining a leftist opposition that is too restless, too talkative. “There is a clear desire of the Insoumis to cause disorder in the hemicycle, with methods imported from the embly and we want to put the kibosh on it”. The LFI deputy for Paris, Sophia Chikirou, is particularly singled out for having threatened to broadcast filmed extracts from the last Finance Committee on social networks, which is formally out of the nails in terms of the confidentiality of the debates.
These groups “do anything and everything”
First vice-president LR, Jean-Didier Berger also supports the initiative. “Yes to pluralism, he said, but not at the cost of disorder and dysfunction of meetings and commissions.” The mayor of Clamart (Hauts-de-Seine) denounces groups “who monopolize the word, do everything and anything, which in no way calms the atmosphere.” To hear it, “they presented themselves to their voters on one and the same list in the second round of the regional elections of 2022, they may well belong to the same group!”
On this point, the case is sensitive. For months, the Insoumis have been pressuring their communist comrades but also socialists and environmentalists to form only one Nupes-type list in the embly. But apart from them, no one wants a single group. Without even wondering about the personality who would preside over it.