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arm yourself against the extreme right of public discourse and ensure that people of color and working-class neighborhoods are better represented in politics. This is the double vocation of the Observatory of racist and anti-Semitic violence in politics, created by the activist of the Young Environmentalists movement, Assia Hifi, and the former candidate of the EELV for the Nupes of district 9 of Essonne, Nadhéra fairy tale
This new body will be announced this Friday, November 25, during the evening organized by the Observatory of Gender and Sexual Violence in Politics, before being officially detailed on December 3, the 39th anniversary of the arrival of the March of equality against racism. It was imagined this summer, after the presidential and legislative elections.
A period during which public debate was affected by a “uninhibited racism”, explains Assia Hifi, also a member of EELV. Faced with this situation, which notably led to the election of 89 deputies of the National Concentration, the two activists drew up a double observation.
Put pressure on the parties
The first refers to the declaration that must be made before reactionary speeches. “We noticed that left-wing candidates had some difficulties in the face of racist and anti-Semitic comments”says Assia Hifi. “As if there was a lack of theorizing the fight against racism in the political parties themselves”. This difficulty can be explained, according to her, by “the absence of anti-racist candidates on the left”.
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Which brings him to the second observation: “lost act” of the Nupes at the end of the legislative elections, where racialized candidates were sometimes found “disconnected for the benefit of the executives of the different parties”sometimes “situated in unwinnable constituencies”. The co-founder had also signed a forum on April 22, which asked “maintain feminist, anti-racist, disabled, young, LGBTQIA+, precarious and worker neighborhood applications”.
For the activist, who admits that the Nupes stand breakthrough” the activists of the working-class neighborhoods must have their place within the political formations so that they have a real weight outside, at the time of the investitures, in the Assembly, everywhere”.
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Glass ceiling
A political and strategic struggle that is “additional” with the battle of ideas, says Assia Hifi. “As long as we do not regulate racist and anti-Semitic violence in politics, there will be no racialized people at the heart of the institutions. This glass ceiling must be destroyed”she insists.
This is precisely the purpose of this new observatory, echoing the initiatives launched this year in the electoral context: to work with the parties, while making it clear that the autonomy of the anti-racist movement is non-negotiable.
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A clarification that illustrates the balance of power between political formations and anti-racist movements, often mobilized opportunely by the parties on the eve of elections, then left aside during the investitures or in the internal organizational chart.
“This autonomy is legitimate and strengthens us against the political formations that have betrayed us and stifled our demands. The parties must respect it at the same time as they become, al heart institutions, true spokespersons of the struggles for and for the first stakeholders. So far, that’s not the case.”sums up the co-founder, in contact with several collectives from working-class neighborhoods.
Source: Politis
Sharon Rock is an author and journalist who writes for 24 News Globe. She has a passion for learning about different cultures and understanding the complexities of the world. With a talent for explaining complex global issues in an accessible and engaging way, Sharon has become a respected voice in the field of world news journalism.
