Fabien Roussel denounced, in a speech on free trade, the “transformation” of “our borders into sieves”. An expression yet used on the far right to denounce the movement of people.
Renewed Monday without surprise at the head of the PCF meeting in congress in Marseille, Fabien Roussel called on the left to “build a new Popular Front” to “build a free, strong and happy France”. During his speech, the MP from the North strongly criticized the free trade policies put in place in recent years.
“They signed free trade treaties with all their might, they turned our borders into sieves and opened France to merchants and finance. , launched Fabien Roussel in front of his supporters.
“They opened France to merchants and finance”
But on Twitter, the account of the National Secretary of the PCF does not specify that the deputy from the North said “and opened France to merchants and finance” after “they have transformed our borders into sieves.”
Several elected Nupes deplored the use of this expression, used on the far right to denounce the arrival of migrants on the European continent, in particular.
“If our borders were sieves, the Mediterranean would not be a cemetery,” tweeted Mélanie Vogel, senator EELV and co-president of the European Green Party.
“Our borders are not sieves but above all the humans who try to cross them risk their lives. Every day”, added the ecologist deputy from Paris Sandrine Rousseau.
“The pack is unleashed”
A large number of left-wing militants or sympathizers have also criticized the use of the expression “passenger borders”, emphasizing that the words of The Internationalcommunist song, affirm that “tomorrow, the international will be the human race”.
Within hours, Fabien Roussel’s initial tweet had been viewed almost two million times.
“The pack is unleashed. Opposing the relocations of our industry and tax evasion should be a pillar of the left. Some are wrong!” replied Fabien Roussel on Twitter.
The PCF, for its part, stressed on the social network that the “distinction” between the free movement of goods and the free movement of people is “on the second-year geography program”.
Internet users also noted that the expression “sieve” had been used by Jean-Luc Mélenchon in May 2015. “There is no solidarity protectionism: this Europe is a sieve”, he tweeted.
