The rebellious presidential candidate keeps repeating that the mobilization of the electorate of the suburbs, inclined to abstention, is crucial to believe in victory, he who does not yet often cross the bar. 10% in the polls.
He took advantage of the national day of fuel poverty to come and visit a district of Bron, on the edge of the motorway, one of these "abandoned" territories of which he wants to be the spokesperson, and that the network of " action groups "rebellious helped to spot.
In a very timely freezing cold, several residents explained to Jean-Luc Mélenchon the specific problem of social housing bars in their neighborhood, built from 1959: walls that were too thin, windows with poorly adjusted single glazing, balconies. honeycombs that let the wind pass ...
"There are a lot of people who already have a hard time believing that others are hungry, so cold ..." sighs the Insubordinate.
Hence his desire to put a "spotlight" on this question.
"The cold, the hunger, the poverty which is gaining ground: there are two France, and one which does not know what is happening in the other", he regrets.
"Dignity"
The deputy for Bouches-du-Rhône, where cold is more rarely a problem, then went to visit the apartment of a family who "fixed everything so as not to stay in the cold".
Jean-Luc Melenchon visiting Bron in the Rhône on November 10, 2021 JEAN-PHILIPPE KSIAZEK AFP
Latifa and Mustapha, however, were unwilling to let the journalists in.
"There is shame, people who live in these conditions do not want to show them", explains Anaïs Belouassa, rebellious activist who spent her childhood in the neighborhood.
Another reason for refusal which speaks volumes, these tenants wished to remain discreet because, to save money, they cut the heating and bought gas cylinders instead, which is illegal.
On the facade of the building, whose faded and dilapidated appearance is the least of their concern, we see the bottles full of earth that the families have placed in the cells of the balconies to try to isolate themselves from the cold.
Most of the shutters are closed during the day.
Jean-Luc Mélenchon says he is "shocked" that things have remained so.
"It is the dignity of people also that is at stake: their kids are cold," he storms.
The tribune puts forward his proposals.
First, the group of LFI deputies tabled this week a bill which establishes "a first free tranche of electricity, heat and gas consumption" and "abolishes cuts and limits power reductions".
In his program, the candidate also aims to renovate 700,000 homes per year to remedy the five million thermal strainers in seven years, thanks to aid proportional to income.
Jean-Luc Melenchon visiting Bron in the Rhône on November 10, 2021 JEAN-PHILIPPE KSIAZEK AFP
His competitor on the left, the ecologist Yannick Jadot also talks a lot about thermal renovation, and has similar proposals.
He had chosen for his part, a few weeks ago, to move not far from Bron, in the center of Lyon, where social housing of a higher standard had just benefited from the renovation program of the metropolis of Lyon, directed by the Vert Bruno Bernard.
© 2021 AFP