"Yellow Vests": Besancenot and Mélenchon support the appeal of Eric Drouet to a "general strike" on February 5

The leader of France insubordinate Jean-Luc Mélenchon said Wednesday to support the call of the figure of "yellow vests" Eric Drouet and the CGT to a "general strike" on February 5, wishing as Olivier Besancenot (NPA) the "convergence" of social movements.

The CGT called "strike" on February 5 and "demonstrations" throughout the territory, to respond to the "social emergency", calling for a rise in the Smic and a reform of taxation. The call to turn it into "total blockage" was shared on Facebook by Eric Drouet.

Mélenchon salutes the "vigor" of the "yellow vests". "I support these calls, they demonstrate the strength of the movement of 'yellow vests' that was not dissolved by the deception of the 'big debate'," said the boss of LFI deputies in a statement. "The members of the parliamentary intergroup (National Assembly, European Parliament, Senate) are convinced of the need for convergences between the movement of 'yellow vests' and the trade union movement," he added. This intergroup "looks favorably, attentive and interested the proposal of general strike for February 5 and will decide to call and mobilize, after its meeting on January 29".

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"Perhaps the moment of convergence" for Besancenot. Earlier in the day, NPA spokesman Olivier Besancenot had announced that he would join this initiative. "Until now, we had a social movement, a trade union movement and 'yellow vests', who looked at each other a little like a faience dog, and there is a gesture made on the side of the 'yellow vests' and I believe that it must challenge trade unions, this is perhaps the moment of convergence, "he argued.

Before proposing that "the whole of the politicians of left" find themselves "in a great unitary meeting Monday to support the general strike of the 5th and to fight together against the repression" by inviting notably "Jean-Luc Mélenchon, François Ruffin, Benoît Hamon, (Fabien) Roussel, Nathalie Arthaud, the Greens, the union left ".