Four rebels auditioned Adrien Quatennens, suspended from their ranks since December. The sanction coming to an end, the LFI deputies must decide on his possible return to the group, after the presentation of the conclusions of the hearing of the latter.
A possible return which is already making teeth cringe on the left. Adrien Quatennens could again be part of the La France insoumise (LFI) group in the National Assembly from April 13. His group had previously suspended him for four months, because of his conviction on December 11 last to four months in prison suspended for domestic violence against his wife, Céline Quatennens.
According to information from Parisian and of France Inter, a joint team of four rebellious deputies with different points of view on the subject has been responsible for hearing the elected representative from the North in recent days. They must report the conclusions of this hearing to the 74 other parliamentarians in the group on Tuesday.
Adrien Quatennens started his internship
“We are going to come to a vote and it will be by majority, like the last time, everyone will agree with the decision of the group”, indicated Manuel Bompard, national coordinator of LFI and close to Adrien Quatennens, in The Parisian. However, this process has not yet been approved. According to a rebellious strategist interviewed by France Inter, “the idea is to see if we can have a consensus without a vote”.
The group had imposed a condition on the 30-year-old: with a view to possible reintegration, he had to carry out “an internship of accountability on violence against women with feminist associations”.
According to information from Parisian, Adrien Quatennens began an internship “a month ago”, with an association with which he concluded a “confidentiality agreement”. This should be completed in the next few weeks.
Counter-offensive and malaise in his own camp
But will this be enough for some rebellious people? Some had had very little taste of their colleague’s counter-offensive. The very evening of his sentencing, he gave an interview to the Voice of the North to denounce a “media lynching”.
The next day, the deputy described on BFMTV a romantic relationship “not violent” but “difficult for about two years”. Regarding the slap given to his wife, he evoked a “serious dispute with reciprocal threats”.
Enough to weaken his camp and push rebellious people to distance themselves. “Like many, I feel a deep discomfort with the interviews of Adrien Quatennens”, had for example tweeted the MEP Manon Aubry.
Another reason for tension: the Lille resident announced, during this same interview on BFMTV, his intention to return to the National Assembly “as soon as possible, probably in January” during “the resumption of parliamentary work”. Either at the very moment when the battle for pensions would begin.
On January 10, the day the bill was presented by Elisabeth Borne, Alexis Corbière declared: “Given the media moment today, it would be a mistake for other things to interfere with this moment”.
Elected Nupes had left the hemicycle when he spoke
The person concerned finally returned the next day to the Palais Bourbon as a non-registered deputy, thus ending a period of absence which had elapsed since September.
A few weeks later, Adrien Quatennens spoke in the hemicycle for the first time since his return, during the examination of the pension reform. His intervention had earned him numerous criticisms from the majority, but also from his camp.
As a sign of protest, the elected environmentalists Sandrine Rousseau, Sandra Regol and Marie-Charlotte Garin had left the hemicycle. Others, like the rebellious Sébastien Delogu, also close to Jean-Luc Mélenchon, had risen to show their support for the deputy from the North.
“That would be a mistake”
On the left, the partners of La France insoumise oppose a return of Adrien Quatennens to the insoumis group and that of the New Popular Ecological and Social Union (Nupes). “It would be a mistake,” said Boris Vallaud, leader of the Socialist deputies, this Sunday on RTL-Le Figaro-LCI. “It can’t be an interlocutor like it was before,” he added, while questioning:
“Isn’t the best judge the voter himself?”
Way to return the fate of the deputy to a new election. Earlier in the week, Marine Tondelier, national secretary of Europe Écologie-Les Verts (EELV), expressed the same position, telling France Info:
“For me, (Adrien Quatennens) cannot sit in the ranks of Nupes.”
And the opposition municipal councilor in Hénin-Beaumont (Pas-de-Calais) to slip:
“I know that within the La France insoumise (LFI) group itself, there are a lot of disagreements that I hear perfectly, so I wish them good luck”.
