“Abuse of power”, “pillory” … The Insoumis react to the sanction against the deputy Thomas Portes – RT in French

Jean-Luc Mélenchon, Danièle Obono and Raquel Garrido stepped up to defend their rebellious comrade Thomas Portes, temporarily excluded from the Assembly due to a controversial tweet targeting the Minister of Labor Olivier Dussopt.

A number of figures from La France insoumise (LFI) expressed their indignation after the temporary exclusion from the Assembly of their colleague Thomas Portes, on February 10, because of a controversial tweet targeting the Minister of Labor Olivier Dussopt. The rebels in the Assembly asserted a “right to caricature and satire”, reports AFP.

“You are looking for the rebels, you will find them”, in particular launched the presidential majority Danièle Obono, quoted by the same source.

MP Raquel Garrido denounced an “abuse of power”, affirming on the airwaves of RMC: “It is inconceivable that in the midst of a battle over pensions, the macronists have the audacity to twist the internal regulations at the point of excluding an opponent.” This decision, she said, was “organized by the majority, remotely controlled by the Elysée, with the support of Marine Le Pen, to take away a voice from the opposition”. “If the Macronists consider that it exceeds the rules of our country on freedom of expression, they can go to court. But the President of the National Assembly does not have the competence to police the word of the deputies on Twitter”, added the elected representative of Seine-Saint-Denis.

It is inconceivable that in the midst of a battle over pensions, the macronists have the audacity to twist the internal regulations to the point of excluding an opponent

The leader of the Insoumis, Jean-Luc Mélenchon, also flew to the aid of Thomas Portes, tweeting in these terms: “After the pillory for Thomas Portes, railroad deputy, Macron will ban all upheavals in the country’s festivals. .”

As for the person concerned, he had claimed to have “never made a call for violence” and deplored that his tweet had been “used and instrumentalized by some”. “I will withdraw my tweet the day you withdraw your reform which will sacrifice thousands of people”, had launched Thomas Portes in the Hemicycle on February 10.

A tweet that outraged Renaissance, Les Républicains and the National Rally

As a reminder, Thomas Portes sparked a controversy by publishing a tweet on February 9 in which the Insoumis, girded with his tricolor scarf, stages himself with his foot resting on a ball bearing the image of the Minister of Labor.

The next day, as Thomas Portes began to defend an amendment on February 10 in the Hemicycle, the presidential majority covered his words with boos. “Calm down colleagues, there is no ball here”, had launched the deputy LFI to them. “Do not be surprised dear colleague”, had then launched Yaël Braun-Pivet to him. “I believe that the Hemicycle is asking you to apologize,” she added, to the applause of the majority, the right and the RN.

“We won’t let anything go. No threat, no intimidation”, had declared, on the side of the macronist camp, the elected Aurore Bergé. On the RN side, Marine Le Pen had similarly denounced a “leak forward” by the left-wing Nupes alliance, of which LFI is a part.

The deputies voted in favor of the temporary exclusion of Thomas Portes, after a meeting of the office of the Assembly which had proposed this sanction. This is the most severe disciplinary sanction for MPs. The sequence caused the interruption in the Hemicycle of the debates on the pension reform – a project defended by the majority and strongly opposed by the Insoumis and the RN.