The scene is surprising: François Ruffin facing bosses, in a very chic mansion in the 8th arrondissement of Paris. The Insoumis MP came to debate Thursday with “France d’en Haut”, to explain his ideas – but also to find points of agreement.
At the invitation of the employers' organization Ethic, François Ruffin, in a shirt and suit jacket, took part in a breakfast/debate with around forty bosses, curious to discover the former journalist, cantor of the class struggle , great defender of workers and “France from below”, revealed by the activist documentary “Merci Patron!”.
"I do my best not to mix sharks and sardines", says the deputy of the Somme, seated in front of an imposing tapestry in a pretty room of the circle of the Interallied Union, located in an 18th century hotel, at a a stone's throw from the Elysée.
"The small entrepreneur who works and finds it difficult to earn money I understand it very well, I set up my business. Receiving Urssaf checks I know what that means", asserts, in reference to his newspaper Fakir, the potential LFI candidate for the 2027 presidential election - even if he remains on the fringes of the Insoumis movement for the moment.
But be careful, small bosses also have their responsibility in the social fight, recalls François Ruffin, who came accompanied by the environmentalist deputy for Essonne Eva Sas.
“It reminds me of the good country priests of the 18th century who embodied virtue in their village and hid the archbishops who wallowed in stupor and lust,” explains the rebellious elected official, whose political label remains a foil in the managerial spheres.
In front of him, the bosses, some of whom are among the 500 richest people in France, sometimes nod, often pout, but listen and ask questions, between two pastries.
"Why would communism work in France when it has given disasters everywhere?" asks one of them, while François Ruffin explains his desire to take certain sectors out of the market to regulate them.
"Communism". The word, almost taboo in this deeply ultra-liberal assembly, is dropped.
"Before there was an electricity price which was regulated and which did not depend on the market, it was not communism", retorts the deputy.
Concerning the dividends paid to shareholders, Mr. Ruffin raises his voice and calls for "decency": "There is a big glut, yes!".
"It's not force-feeding, it's capitalism", replies Sophie de Menthon, the president of Ethic, who debates with him.
“You talk about it as you want, I talk about it as I want,” retorts the elected official.
When the bosses tell him they are having trouble recruiting, he talks to them about the working conditions of small hands.
“People are proud of their work, they love it, but they don’t like the way in which they are made to do their work,” he explains, calling for “breathing” to be preserved for employees too often.” in apnea".
To those who praise his “courage” for having come before them, he qualifies: “The real courage is that of the cleaning lady who came, at dawn, to clean this carpet”.
But the MP is also playing for reconciliation, even if he knows that no one here will vote for him - Bernard Arnault, unwitting hero of “Merci Patron!”, is also a member of Ethic.
"I'm a curious boy, that's why I go to the Monaco Yacht Club or the Geneva Polo Club. Tomorrow we will have to explore the country together, I'm curious to see what's happening in France in the future. high,” he explains.
And when Sophie de Menthon and François Ruffin find points of agreement – notably on the need to impose rules on globalization – the 47-year-old MP adds, with a smile: “the PACS is not immediately Madame From Menthon!”
07/09/2023 18:48:49 - Paris (AFP) - © 2023 AFP
