CRIF and far right: the political class rebels against yet another "slippage" by Jean-Luc Mélenchon

One more provocation to add to his counter. Former presidential candidate Jean-Luc Mélenchon equated the CRIF - Representative Council of Jewish Institutions of France - with the far right in a tweet posted on Sunday July 16. “The President of

A tweet which, once again, triggered the ire of the political class even within the Nupes. “Ashamed, even a little more on this day (of commemoration of) Vel d’Hiv. Who knows anti-racism knows that the history of CRIF and UEJF is consubstantial with the fight against fascism. All my support for Yonathan Arfi”, declared the socialist president of the Occitanie region Carole Delga.

Same story on the side of the PS mayor of Montpellier. “To qualify the president of the Crif Yonathan Arfi as far right on this July 16, the sad anniversary of the Vel d'Hiv roundup, is to insult the commitment of his life against anti-Semitism, racism and the party of hatred. It is an insult to the democratic debate, ”outbid Michael Delafosse.

More nuanced, the first secretary of the Socialist Party Olivier Faure warns of the risks posed by “any controversy which fractures the historic camp of the Republic”. And as if to temporize, the deputy of Seine-et-Marne did not fail to specify that "Jean-Luc Mélenchon is a republican" and that "Yonathan Arfi is not of the extreme right".

Invited to the microphone of RMC this Monday, July 17, Sandrine Rousseau also seemed to dissociate herself from the words of Jean-Luc Mélenchon, ensuring that she made no connection between the Crif and the far right.

Death of Nahel: on the left, Jean-Luc Mélenchon isolates himself by relativizing the riots

Socialist MP Valérie Rabault recalled that "the president of Crif has the right to express his opinions freely and to criticize political leaders on their positions". She also called Jean-Luc Mélenchon's remarks "indecent" and "contrary to the essence of democracy".

For his part, the former minister and socialist deputy and president of the Court of Auditors Pierre Moscovici described as "absurd" and "shocking" the fact of having accused the president of Crif of being on the far right.

Similarly, within the presidential majority, criticism is rife. “Shame on you,” asserted the president of the Renaissance deputies in the National Assembly Aurore Bergé to Jean-Luc Mélenchon. The deputy for Yvelines also sent “all [her] support” to Crif and its president “for their work of memory and their relentless fight against anti-Semitism”. Macronist MP David Amiel spoke directly to the former candidate on his Twitter account: "You have lost all your bearings, starting with elementary dignity."

National Rally MP Laure Lavalette described the rebellious leader's remarks as "disgusting slippage". And to deplore that "even on July 16, the day of the commemorations of the Vel d'Hiv roundup, Mélenchon cannot help it".

But if the accusations of slippage have been flying since yesterday, the president of Reconquête Éric Zemmour assured that it was not a "slippage", but a "strategy". Namely: "to become the candidate of the Muslims at all costs, even if it means constantly flattering the anti-Semitism of the suburbs, even if it means unreservedly justifying the riots, even if it means qualifying as far right everything that is not far left .”

Conversely, the rebels show their support for the instigator of the Nupes. Asked about LCI this morning, LFI coordinator Manuel Bompard kicked into touch. “To see that the president of Crif prefers to address his blows to La France insoumise …”, he argued. And to add to conclude: "We have no lessons to learn in the fight against racism, against anti-Semitism".

On Twitter, Alexis Corbière, deputy for Seine-Saint-Denis, considered "irresponsible" the accusations of the president of Crif in the direction of his movement. The Rhône deputy Gabriel Amard sent “all [his] support to Jean-Luc Mélenchon”, and described as “totally inappropriate and shameful” the words of Yonathan Arfi.