Jean-Luc Mélenchon has confirmed that La France Insoumise will attend the meeting of party leaders convened by Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu at Matignon on Thursday, October 22 — but he made clear his movement is arriving with no intention of playing along.
“We’re going to go, and we’re going to ruin your meeting,” the LFI founder declared, issuing a blunt warning to the Prime Minister just hours after receiving his invitation.
An Invitation Born of Weekend Violence
The Prime Minister’s letter to party leaders followed violence that erupted on the margins of a national mobilization over the cost of living last weekend. In it, Lecornu called on political formations to acknowledge their responsibility in the face of the unrest, writing that “no disagreement, no anger, no political ambition can justify resorting to violence.”
Mélenchon chose not to wait for Thursday’s discussion, offering his supporters his reading of the letter on Tuesday evening. “We are invited to a very strange meeting,” he said with irony.
Fury Over ‘Ultra-Left’ Accusations
The Insoumis leader reserved his sharpest response for remarks attributed to Lecornu suggesting that “a movement of the ultra-left wants to organize profound disorder in the country right up to the presidential election.”
“Who are they talking about? Where? When? How? This is not a joke!” Mélenchon reacted, denouncing what he described as accusations that his camp seeks to exploit unrest to seize the presidency.
“How can they believe we are that stupid?” he added, before lashing out at “apprentice dictators who wield political opposition like a whip.”
“Does he really believe that by attacking shops one plans to retake power?” Mélenchon continued, rejecting any suggestion that LFI is connected to the destruction.
LFI Delegation Still Unnamed
La France Insoumise has not yet specified who will sit at the table on Thursday. The meeting is set to bring together party leaders at the Prime Minister’s official residence, as the government seeks to calm tensions following a weekend of clashes that has reignited debate over policing strategy and the handling of the October 17 demonstrations.
