To them we owe Nadine Morano’s memorable hips in Royan in 2012, or Manuel Valls’s soaked shirt in La Rochelle in 2015. Summer universities make their traditional return at the end of August. Whether in Drôme for LFI, or in Grenoble for EELV, many political parties have decided to once again comply with the exercise.
To the program? Meetings, debates and, of course, festive evenings, sometimes organized by French song stars.
“The summer universities are a highlight. It is a moment of federation of the militant body, of the executives,” explains Matthieu Croissandeau, a political columnist for BFMTV.
The Giscardians at the origin of the first gathering
As the newspaper points out The cross, these meetings arose in France from May 68, to renew the way of doing politics, through debates, conferences… In 1975, the young people of Giscard organized the first “summer university”. For three weeks, 400 young followers of the former President of the Republic train in Montpellier, in the Hérault.
The practice will spread little by little, until it becomes an institution. From 1993 to 2015 and in 2019, all the tenors of the Socialist Party met in La Rochelle (Charente-Maritime) to discuss, but also to mark their differences. On the Republican side, we have long preferred seaside resorts anchored to the right, such as La Baule (Loire-Atlantique) or Royan (Charente-Maritime).
The objective of these great masses, abundantly covered by the media? Above all, train managers and provide elected officials with the correct ideological elements to convey on the ground. From the point of view of public opinion, these universities also served to officially mark the return to politics.
But the agitation of the political spectrum forces, since then, the historical parties of the Fifth Republic have partially renounced these great meetings. On the PS side, we left La Rochelle. From Friday to Sunday, it is in Blois (Loir-et-Cher) that the militants of the last left-wing party to come to power will meet in a small committee.
The Republicans, who must elect their new president, have abandoned their La Baule meeting this year. Only the young republicans will meet at the beginning of September in Angers (Maine-et-Loire).
“The period of the great political masses is over. The networking of activists has been interrupted, in particular by social networks. The training of executives can also be carried out remotely. Therefore, the format has aged a little bit,” says Matthieu Croissandeau.
look “cool”
Although she ages, the summer college model has not said her last word, primarily because of the image she allows to return. Who says “summer” necessarily says a more relaxed atmosphere.
“There is a question of image. You have to arrive tanned, fresh, dressed in civilian clothes… The style is well studied upstream”, continues our political columnist.
The LFI Summer Universities that take place in Valence from this Thursday are marked by numerous concerts. Cali or Danakil will follow one another on stage. French song stars who share the stage with members of the government, since Jean-Luc Mélenchon’s movement has decided to invite Marlène Schiappa or Clément Beaune for ideas debates.
“Inviting opponents is meant to show your spirit of openness,” says Matthieu Croissandeau.
Organizing your own summer school is also an opportunity to show your uniqueness within a movement. No Nupes member party has decided to join the rebels in Valencia this year. In addition to the socialists who meet in Blois, the environmentalists have an appointment starting Thursday in Grenoble, and the communists in Strasbourg, before their great back-to-school meeting: the Fête de l’Humanité, where Jean -Luc Mélenchon , after a decade of avoiding it.
Great Absent Renaissance
The training aspect of managers and activists has not been left aside. This year’s different university summer programs are packed with workshops and discussions. On the side of the environmentalists, we will evoke “education for peace at the time of nuclear disarmament”. Rebel activists will be offered a training on Saturday titled “how to win an election.”
Further to the right, we sail south. The executives of the National Association will meet in Cap d’Agde in mid-September for the “inter-parliamentary days”, and supporters of Éric Zemmour will be able to attend a speech by the former journalist on September 11 in Gréoux-les-Bains (Alpes -de-Haute-Provence).
One big absentee remains: the presidential party. Nothing is planned at Renaissance, except for a very discreet seminar in Metz (Moselle). “It is not a political party, it is a movement where everything depends on the good word of Emmanuel Macron. They have failed to create a militant base”, concludes Matthieu Croissandeau.
Source: BFM TV
