Danièle Obono is an MP for La France Insoumise.
Emmanuel Macron’s government lost its majority this June, and now relies on strong-arm tactics to push through its agenda. This week’s budget debate showed the government’s weakness — and the possibility of blocking its assault on France’s social model.
In Sunday’s elections, Jean-Luc Mélenchon’s left-wing coalition has a historic chance to break Emmanuel Macron’s grip on Parliament. Newly reelected MP Danièle Obono tells Jacobin that to win, the Left will have to mobilize habitual nonvoters.
After years of media attempts to cast him as “divisive” and “soft on Islamism,” Jean-Luc Mélenchon took a historic high vote in France’s election. Leftist MP Danièle Obono told Jacobin how his campaign defied the smears — and saved the Left from collapse.
Last summer, left-wing French MP Danièle Obono was portrayed in a nationalist magazine as a slave in chains. She told Jacobin about how the far right is taking over French media — and how Emmanuel Macron’s supporters are adopting its reactionary agenda.
Low testing rates and the undersupply of masks for hospital staff highlight the weakness of the French government’s reaction to COVID-19. As Danièle Obono MP tells Jacobin, Emmanuel Macron’s administration has based its response on the resources left after years of cuts — not on what the health system actually needs.
Neoliberal president Macron’s fuel tax hike has sparked six months of protests. But for France Insoumise’s Danièle Obono, the gilets jaunes and climate marchers aren’t on opposing sides: they both want the rich to pay for climate chaos.
France Insoumise MP Danièle Obono on how Emmanuel Macron’s “extreme center” is feeding the rise of the far right.