On October 26, Prime Minister Barnier declared that he was considering
developing a 5-year reform plan to change the country. His teams were todraw inspiration from the Yellow Vest Movement's grievance books to
build this plan. Thus, the books resurface 6 years later. ---- A brief
history of the grievance books ---- From the first days of the Yellow
Vest movement, the need to write appeared on certain roundabouts: in
Libourne in Gironde, the ever-increasing number of arrivals were invited
to write down the reasons for their presence and their desires, their
concrete proposals. On December 8, 2018, faced with the social anger
that is being expressed and that does not weaken from week to week, the
association of rural mayors of France initiated the "open town hall"
operation consisting of allowing anyone to express in writing what they
wish to bring to the attention of the government. The first books of
grievances of this more institutional operation were given to Macron on
December 14, 2018 who, hoping to stem this anger, launched the great
debate the next day while promising: "The citizens' notebooks opened in
the town halls will be put online under a free license", that is to say
free of access. The results of the great debate including the content of
these notebooks were to be returned on April 15, 2019 but two days
before, the fire at Notre-Dame de Paris monopolized national attention
and allowed Macron to consciously bury this report containing many
emancipatory, even revolutionary ideas. Today, 19,899 notebooks have
been recorded, including more than 200,000 manually written
contributions to which must be added 2 million online contributions, all
kept in the 101 departmental archives. This success demonstrates that
the contributors to the notebooks have gone far beyond the yellow vests
alone. Officially, an identity document is enough to consult them, but
in reality, many are prohibited from consultation (and this until 2069)
because they contain personal data deemed sensitive (name, address,
telephone number, etc.). Therefore, only a few authorized researchers
and journalists have been able to access them, but after having gone
through the various stages of a long procedure.
Content of the notebooks of grievances
This stubborn and obstinate research now allows us to know the content
of some of the notebooks[1]. A documentary, "Les doléances", produced by
Hélène Desplanques also contributes greatly to disclosing this content
and to opening up a form of curiosity. These notebooks contain extremely
rich content, expressing not only a desire to change the social
organization for a more dignified and just life, but also proposing and
setting out actions to be implemented to achieve this. Politics (i.e.
the conduct of city affairs) is at the heart of these grievances. They
are therefore political contributions, thoughtful thoughts and great
dignity, illustrating the concerns of a thinking people, contrary to the
image that many media and politicians gave of the yellow vest movement.
Several themes are addressed and among the most important are: 1/ the
need for social justice and fairness between all: revaluation of
pensions, increase in the minimum wage, increase in purchasing power,
reduction of wage differences, institution of a universal income,
improvement of housing, wages and pensions indexed to inflation, taxing
multinationals, eliminating VAT, stopping speculation on basic
necessities, renationalizing water, electricity, highways, etc.; 2/
regional planning[2]: fight against medical deserts, stop the
disappearance of public services, especially in rural areas, opening of
health centers, decent consideration of disability and illness,
reimbursement of dental costs, safeguarding of local businesses,
development of TER train lines, maintenance of schools, construction of
schools to limit the number of students per class, etc.; 3/ tax justice:
reestablishment of the ISF, fight against tax fraud, abolition of
privileges, reduction of the State's standard of living, lowering the
salaries of the president and ministers, etc.; 4/ deep institutional
reforms: institution of the RIC, abolition of the Senate, reduction of
the number of deputies, better representation of elected officials by
drawing lots for example, more participatory democracy, more democracy
through collective action, taking into account blank ballots,
establishing a minimum percentage to be elected, stopping the violence
of dematerialization, etc.; 5/ actions to combat global warming and
develop less polluting energy sources: taxing the fuels of the most
polluting aircraft, container ships, cruise ships, etc. There are very
few contributions on immigration, public debt or security, themes dear
to governments.
There is material here to change our political, social and fiscal
organization. When the short-lived Prime Minister Barnier announces that
he wants to rely on these contributions, the trickery is already being
felt. Marie-Claire Carrère-Gée, Minister Delegate to the Prime Minister
and responsible for government coordination in charge of this issue,
insists on the need to update these proposals and suggests integrating
themes such as security or immigration, which she considers more
current. Once again, we are witnessing a complete gap between the real
concerns of people and those of politicians. How will these security
concerns respond to this mother from Libourne? (see box)
Really making the grievance books public
In the Hérault department's books, we read: "Hoping that these books
will be useful". To date, these citizens' books have been deliberately
forgotten from public debates. In her documentary "Les doléances",
Hélène Desplanques travels the territory and meets with groups of
citizens who are campaigning for the books to be made public so that
contributions can be heard. The broadcast of this documentary was not
easy because the initial broadcast had been scheduled for June 17, 2024,
but the dissolution of the National Assembly prevented it. It will be
postponed until last September. On the legislative level, in 2022, a
bill relating to the publication of the free expression books resulting
from the great debate had been tabled on the desk of the National
Assembly but never put to the vote. In January 2024, in September 2024,
and again on November 24, 2024, draft resolutions and the 2022 bill were
again tabled in the National Assembly but were never discussed in
session. Following the overthrow of the Barnier government on December
4, on December 9, the same proposal was tabled again.
We can only support these requests for publication of the notebooks, but
there is no hope as to how they will be used. Indeed, on the one hand,
the use, or rather the voluntary non-use, that has already been made of
them by the government shows a misappropriation of their content (such
as the reestablishment of the ISF widely desired by contributors that
Macron dismissed out of hand in January 2019 because it was contrary to
his liberal policy) and on the other hand, no candidate for the 2022
presidential election has relied on the content of these hundreds of
political proposals and today some deputies - under the pretext of
updating - want to add subjects that were not included or only marginally.
Conclusion
Today, the difficult access to the notebooks that can be consulted in
the archives and the non-publication of other grievances appear to be an
expression of the confiscation of the people's voice. They also reflect
that the appropriation of this voice is feared. The refusal to use the
content of these grievances without distorting them, to listen to the
anger expressed in these notebooks, contributes to the feeling of
confiscation of speech. The notebooks of grievances nevertheless propose
concrete avenues for a political program as close as possible to the
aspirations of the people, with grievances certainly but also hundreds
of proposals that could have been bearers of hope for many of the
contributors. The grievances express the pain and the suffering of
living in France. They reflect the violence experienced every day with
our feet on the ground in the face of those who run this country. But
the State, by its centrality and its bureaucracy, by the exercise of its
violence and its bourgeois interests, makes itself deaf and blind to the
living conditions of its administrators. It does not hear these cries "I
am always afraid of the future, listen to us please, while there is
still time" or "But there you go, we are nothing, we understand nothing,
personally I am angry", etc. These writings are a common good, a state
of affairs and a rich reflection resulting from a crisis that has only
worsened since then. The dispossession of these writings by a
freewheeling and unstable power generates anger and deep disgust
throughout the territory. This extract from one of the notebooks
announces - still worried - what could happen to such an arrogant and
impermeable power:
We are the ground you walk on
You are more and more numerous and heavy
heavier and heavier.
This cannot last.
We will rise or collapse
and it is you who will fall from a great height, not us
since we are the ground, on which you walk!!!
M., M., D., G.
Notes
[1]Sources: documentary "les doléances" visible on France TV, numerous
articles from Le Monde Diplomatique, Le Monde, Médiapart, ... and
various sites that have reported excerpts from the cahiers de doléances.
[2]The cahiers de doléances of rural municipalities and small towns have
been very invested by the contributors
--------------------------------------------------
"Mr. President, I would like you to explain to my 5-year-old daughter
why Mommy doesn't put the heating on everywhere in the house? Why
doesn't Mommy buy bread every day? Why does mom eat leftovers on her
plate or a cup of coffee in the evening? Why does mom make noodles after
the 15th of the month? Why did mom cross many streets far from home to
finally get a precarious job when you think one street was enough? Why
does Santa Claus bring presents that mom made? Why does mom use her
Christmas bonus to pay the housing and audiovisual tax with late payment
penalties? Why are there empty houses when there are French people on
the street? Why does mom regularly sort through our things and give them
to other people who have nothing? Why does mom feel happy and say she is
rich when she can afford a coffee on a terrace that is much better than
at home? Why does mom say she stubbed her foot when she cries in bed at
night while checking her account balance? Why does mom already know she
won't be able to pay for her college education? Why this year (again) is
his great-grandmother, who worked all her life as a cleaner for wealthy
people, receiving around 750 euros in pension? Why is she coming to
spend the winter with her family for another year, leaving her oil
heating tank empty? Why do rich people continue to get the crumbs that
were left for the poor? Why does mom say that we are poor without ever
complaining about it despite her anger? Mr. President, remember to
explain to him how mom manages to remain dignified and humble when the
concerns of the people go over your head. If, after explaining all this
to him, you still have a little saliva left, tell him why mom is ashamed
of you! A mom like so many others!
https://oclibertaire.lautre.net/spip.php?article4342
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