In France, the left-wing MP for the party “La France Insoumise”, Adrien Quatennens, resigned from the National Assembly in September because of a slap in the face of his wife. Now she is making new allegations – while his party had already discussed his return.
France’s left-wing party alliance “Nouvelle union populaire écologique et sociale” (Nupes) was in an uproar in September over allegations of alleged domestic violence by a MP who star reported. Adrien Quatennens, a deputy from Jean-Luc Mélenchon’s left-wing populist party La France Insoumise (LFI), admitted to slapping his wife after her allegations became public. Quatennens is considered a confidant of faction leader Mélenchon and has since been traded as his possible successor.
He admitted the allegation and apologized publicly, saying it was a one-off slip-up during an argument. At the time, Quatennens himself announced that he would be stepping down from his post as party coordinator, and he has not appeared in the French National Assembly since.
Celine Quatennens: Several years of “physical and psychological violence”
Most recently, however, party colleagues are said to have already discussed his possible return to the National Assembly in the near future. According to some MPs, Quatennens himself is said to have signaled this wish. Last week, however, new allegations against him by his wife became known – for many this changes the direction of the discussions.
Celine Quatennens accused her husband to “AFP” of having subjected her to his tantrums and “physical and psychological violence” for several years. She has already wanted to file for divorce three times, but has always backed down “under pressure”. The divorce proceedings between the two are now under way. By claiming that it was a single freak out, her husband downplayed his behavior, she said further. That’s why she didn’t want to remain silent and wanted to bring things back into balance with her new statements. Adrien Quatennens had the new allegations denied by his lawyer.
No return of Adrien Quatennens to the National Assembly for the time being
Shortly before the new allegations against him became known, two LFI MPs had told the French public radio station “franceinfo” that Quatennens would definitely be back in parliament by the end of November. Mélenchon had also told the media that Quatennens would come back and that he would be helped. After the new allegations became known, his party announced that Adrien Quatennens would rest his parliamentary work until a court decision was available. Then you want to make a new decision.
Olivier Faure from the “Parti socialiste”, which belongs to the left-wing Nupes alliance, commented on Twitter about the new allegations by Celine Quatennen. It is “our duty to accept her statement and to believe her,” he wrote – as well as to draw the conclusion that a return of Adrien Quatennens is impossible. Other parliamentarians, such as the Green Sandrine Rousseau, agreed with this assessment.
Unrest in France’s left over dealing with allegations
“La France Insoumise” was already in crisis over the first allegations in September. Jean-Luc Mélenchon in particular was sharply criticized from many quarters for his careless handling of the incident. He thanked Quatennens on Twitter for “his dignity and courage” and expressed his “trust and affection”. He had simultaneously criticized the media and the police for interfering in the divorce between Quatennens and his wife. In October he also said on the program “Dimanche en politique” that Quatennens was not a violent criminal because he had become violent once more than a year ago. Mélenchon has not yet publicly commented on Céline Quatennens’ new allegations against her husband.
There was strong opposition from his party alliance to his statements at the time. Some questioned his suitability to lead the left-wing coalition. Luc Broussy of the Socialist Party said, according to Le Monde reports, Mélenchon’s reaction shows that he is incapable of taking the lead for a modern, humanist and feminist left. At the time, feminists had criticized that there was also a system in left-wing parties that protected male perpetrators rather than believed victims – also because there had been several allegations of sexual assault within the party.
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Sources: , Stern, , ,
Source: Stern
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