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Fabien Roussel

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Not to be confused with Fabrice Roussel.
Fabien Roussel
Roussel in 2018
National Secretary of the French Communist Party
Incumbent
Assumed office
25 November 2018
Preceded byPierre Laurent
Member of the National Assembly
for Nord's 20th constituency
In office
21 June 2017 – 9 June 2024
Preceded byAlain Bocquet
Succeeded byGuillaume Florquin
Personal details
Born (1969-04-16) 16 April 1969 (age 55)
Béthune, France
Political partyFrench Communist Party
ProfessionJournalist, politician
WebsiteWebsite

Fabien Roussel (French pronunciation: [fabjɛ̃ ʁusɛl]; born 16 April 1969) is a French politician who has served as national secretary of the French Communist Party (PCF) since 2018. He was the party’s candidate in the 2022 French presidential election where he placed eight in the first round. Roussel represented the Nord's 20th constituency in the National Assembly from 2017 to 2024.

Early life

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From a family of activists,[1] Fabien Roussel is the son of Daniel Roussel, former journalist at L'Humanité.[2] After he finished high school in Champigny-sur-Marne, in the Paris region, he graduated from the Journalists Development Centre (CPJ).[3] He began his career as an image reporter at the Ardennes regional branch of television channel France 3. One of his paternal great-grandfathers was a Spanish refugee who died after being interned in the Vernet camp.[4]

Early political career

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During his high school years, Fabien Roussel engaged in the Mouvement Jeunes Communistes de France (MJCF) to denounce the apartheid in South Africa and demanded the release of Nelson Mandela. He also participated in major demonstrations against the Monory law and Devaquet bill, related respectively to employee shareholding and university organisation.

From 1997, he was advisor in charge of communication for Communist Michelle Demessine, then Secretary of State for Tourism under Prime Minister Lionel Jospin.[5] He then worked for Jean-Jacques Candelier and Alain Bocquet.

Political career

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In 2017, Roussel was elected to succeed Bocquet as the Member of Parliament for the 20th constituency of Nord as a member of the French Communist Party.[6] He became party leader in 2018.

On 9 May 2021, Roussel won the Communist nomination for the 2022 presidential election.[7] He was defeated in the first round of voting, placing eighth and garnering just 2.28% of the vote, the second-lowest vote share the party has ever managed in a presidential election.

He was re-elected in the 2022 legislative elections as a deputy for the 20th constituency of Nord.

In September 2023, Fabien Roussel had launched a call "to invade gas stations and supermarkets" , considering that it was "self-defense" in the face of rising prices. On the subject of gasoline and food prices, "we are being fleeced, attacked, racketeered, and we should say nothing?" , protested Roussel. "There are concrete measures to implement to lower prices, block them at the bottom (...) We are calling for mobilization, to invade gas stations, supermarkets, prefectures, because the State is responsible ," he justified. "It is a question of self-defense." These statements earned him denounciation from Jean-Luc Mélenchon.[8]

In 2023, La France Insoumise deputy Sophia Chikirou compared Roussel to Jacques Doriot, French communist who was later expelled from the Communist party and became fascist collaborator with Nazi Germany. Jean-Luc Mélenchon reposted this comparison on Facebook.[9]

In November 2023, he announced that "The PCF has definitively broken with La France Insoumise." And ended participation of PCF in the NUPES alliance.[10]

In 2024, Roussel was defeated by the National Rally candidate Guillaume Florquin in the first round of that year’s snap elections, his seat had been held by PCF since 1962. Roussel blamed his participation in NFP alliance together with La France Insoumise for his loss. He claimed: "The alliance, as it was built, does not allow us to win. It allows for big scores in the big cities, but small ones in rural areas and in the sub-prefectures. It even made people vote for RN!". He confirmed, that if he had to run again, it wouldn't be in an alliance with La France Insoumise.[11][12]

Political positions

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Roussel takes progressive positions on socioeconomic issues and favours raising the minimum wage to €1,500 a month post-tax, as well as reducing the workweek to 32 hours and lowering the retirement age to 60. Unlike many French leftists, he is strongly supportive of nuclear power and has expressed a positive view of hunting.[13] He has expressed support for the 2023 pension reform strikes.[14] He is against entry of Ukraine to NATO and EU, and also voted against security agreement with Ukraine.[15]

After The Ecologists deputy Sandrine Rousseau criticised meat consumption as contributor to climate change, Roussel strongly defended meat consumption as part of French gastronomy.[16][17]

Roussel supported resolution criticising Israel as apartheid and urging the French government to "recognize the State of Palestine" but also to call at the UN for an embargo on arms supplies to Israel and to impose "targeted sanctions" against Israeli officials "most involved in the crime of apartheid".[18] After Hamas attack on Israel, Roussel, Socialist Party and the The Ecologists criticised La France Insoumise for refusing to call Hamas a terrorist organisation.[19] A year later LFI called Hamas terrorist.[20]

Personal life

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Roussel lives with his partner Dorothée, a civil servant of category C.[21][22]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Congrès du PC : Chez les Roussel, communiste de père en fils", La Voix du Nord (in French), 23 November 2018.
  2. ^ "Congrès du PCF : Fabien Roussel, un puncheur pour ranimer le PC dans les médias et les urnes". La Voix du Nord (in French). 25 November 2018. Retrieved 19 March 2019.
  3. ^ "LesBiographies.com". Archived from the original on 1 April 2019. Retrieved 19 March 2019.
  4. ^ "Fabien Roussel, fossettes et marteau".
  5. ^ "LEGISLATIVES - 20e CIRCONSCRIPTION DU NORD - C'est fait, Fabien Roussel, l'héritier, dans le siège d'Alain Bocquet". La Voix du Nord. 19 June 2017. Retrieved 19 March 2019.
  6. ^ "Nord - 20ème circonscription : Résultats des élections législatives 2017". Lexpress.fr. Retrieved 19 March 2019.
  7. ^ Mestre, Abel (9 May 2021). "Présidentielle 2022 : Fabien Roussel, candidat pour le Parti communiste" [Presidential election 2022 : Fabien Roussel, Communist Party candidate]. Le Monde (in French). Retrieved 9 March 2022.
  8. ^ "Jean-Luc Mélenchon dénonce l'« initiative violente » de Fabien Roussel, qui a appelé à « envahir si nécessaire » des préfectures pour dénoncer l'inflation". Le Monde (in French). 14 September 2023.
  9. ^ "Comparé au collaborationniste Jacques Doriot, Fabien Roussel appelle "au respect et au dialogue" pour que "la gauche gagne et l'emporte"". France Info (in French). 21 September 2023.
  10. ^ "Nupes : « Le PCF a définitivement rompu avec LFI », affirme Fabien Roussel". Le Journal du Dimanche (in French). 16 November 2023.
  11. ^ "Fabien Roussel, patron du Parti communiste, éliminé dès le premier tour des élections législatives". Le Monde.fr (in French). 30 June 2024. Retrieved 30 June 2024.
  12. ^ "Fabien Roussel acte la rupture avec La France insoumise". Le Point (in French). 25 October 2024.
  13. ^ "French elections: 5 Things You Didn't Know About Fabien Roussel". The Local. 22 March 2022. Retrieved 29 March 2022.
  14. ^ Angelique Chrisafis (16 March 2023). "Macron uses special powers to force through plan to raise pension age". The Guardian. Retrieved 16 March 2023.
  15. ^ "Aide à l'Ukraine: Fabien Roussel déplore un soutien de la France "sans lignes rouges"". BFMTV (in French). 13 February 2024.
  16. ^ "«Non, Fabien, tu ne gagneras pas avec un steak» : la pique de Sandrine Rousseau à Roussel sur la viande". Le Figaro (in French). 17 September 2023.
  17. ^ "Présidentielle : le coup de gueule de Fabien Roussel "affligé" par la polémique sur la gastronomie française". TF1 Info (in French). 13 January 2022.
  18. ^ "Une résolution de députés communistes dénonçant l'"apartheid" israélien provoque la colère d'élus et d'associations". francetvinfo.fr (in French). 23 July 2022.
  19. ^ "Comment le conflit Israël/Hamas a fracturé (peut-être définitivement) la Nupes". radiofrance.fr (in French). 17 October 2023.
  20. ^ "Un «massacre», un «acte terroriste» : LFI rend (enfin) hommage aux victimes du Hamas". Le Journal du Dimanche (in French). 8 October 2024.
  21. ^ de Ravinel, Sophie (15 August 2021). "Fabien Roussel, la cuisine idéale pour un été en camping 2 étoiles" [Fabien Roussel, the ideal 2-star cooking for a camping summer]. Le Figaro (in French). Retrieved 9 March 2022.
  22. ^ Moreau, Sarah (14 February 2022). "Fabien Roussel amoureux : le candidat à la présidentielle publie une photo de son couple pour la Saint-Valentin" [Fabien Roussel in love : The presidential candidate publishes a photo of the couple for Saint Valentine's Day]. Voici (in French). Retrieved 9 March 2022.
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