UN RENOUVEAU DE LA PARTICIPATION ASSOCIATIVE ? L'engagement et le militantisme au sein du comité Attac Isère

1.1.2.2 The construction of an associative dynamics

Concerning the presentation of Attac, the second element which can be proposed resides in the increase in adhesions. The official documents of association and the articles of press refer in a systematic way to the fast rise which association knew. The launching of individual adhesions started in July 1998, after the executives of association had been installed. The progression of the number of members declared by association is considerable : three years after launching, Attac asserts 30.000 members^89(*). The presentation of the association diffused by the official documents and the media is that of a movement equipped with a strong dynamics. Bernard Cassen, who has fun to be presented in the form of a one « contractor »^90(*) directing one of the start-up the most daring citizens, this dynamism puts unceasingly ahead : « The Attac phenomenon intrigues, and sometimes even disconcerts : how it is made that in a time of alleged « depoliticization » an association [...] accommodate each week in its center several hundreds of new members, of which a significant number of young people ? »^91(*). The media also confront this « revival » of engagement to the loss speed of the political and trade-union organizations^92(*). This representation is very present during talks. Lionel explains why it is astonished enough to see with each meeting as many new people presenting itself. Until December 2000, a person undertook to inform at the beginning of meeting the newcomers. Isabelle affirms, also, that meetings of the group « campus » attract « not badly of new heads ».

Lionel : From there, some again organized a meeting in another commune and then there was about thirty people. It was enough surprising because the monthly meetings in Grenoble gather between 30 and 60 people. In this group, there is a third of people whom one can see with the monthly meetings, a third of people who seldom come to the monthly meetings and then a third of people which come for the first time, often of people who intended to speak about Attac and who are interested. Each time there are new people and that one will find the following time or not. Like one does not say it that has only word of mouth [...] There are many people who come to get information about association. There were so much new people before whom came to each plenary assembly that one took a group with share to make a briefing on association.

Isabelle : The fact of seeing that there is a group of young people who move and who have ideas, that makes it possible to attract other people. I saw during the year, the group widened compared to the beginning of year. The first time that goes back to January and since I do not see new heads badly arriving. Each time there is almost a dozen people whereas at the beginning one was fewer.

Attac would thus translate a revival of engagement. The passion which association caused is not contestable within sight of adhesions. However, it is a question of highlighting the way in which this progression was presented and deformed. The number of members is a very important factor in the engagement of many militants, it also explains the media interest which is carried to association. However this progression is artificially overestimated. The national direction enters as being adherent, all those which subscribed to association since its launching in June 1998. The nonrenewals of adhesion are not taken into account. For example, among the 5300 members of 1998, only one third (that is to say 1800) had renewed their adhesion in September 1999^93(*). That induces a differential growing between the cotisants and the members. Thus, in September 1999, the figure of 12.000 members was asserted, while 8.800 contributions had been perceived^94(*). In September 2000, whereas association asserted 27.000 members, it comprised only 17.000 cotisants^95(*). In June 2001, an article of Release^96(*) gave a report on the figure of 30.000 members while association did not comprise « that » 24.000 cotisants^97(*). Finally in August 2001, Attac asserted 38.000 members but counted 21.000 cotisants^98(*). The difference between the members and the cotisants was 3.200 in September 1999, it was 10.000 in September 2000 and 17.000 in August 2001. One can suppose that the purpose of this accounting of the members is to amplify the progression which association knows.

This technique was perhaps also employed during the launching of association. At the time of the first months of launching, the Diplomatic World returned account each month of the advance of association. The monthly magazine also published, on the occasion, the number of adhesions which had been entered. However, it appears that the number then delivered does not correspond to the number of adhesions which it is possible to raise in the documents of association. For example, the Diplomatic World proclaimed that with « the end of July, approximately 4000 people had asked for information on association and 1500 had adhered »^99(*) while only 1.000 members were declared by association. In its edition of September, it was announced that « already association counts nearly 2.500 members and the flow of adhesions, which did not stop in August, should develop in September »^100(*), on this date association reached 1500 members. It is legitimate to wonder whether the declarations of the diplomatic World are not connected with « misleading publicity ». The number of adhesions would have been elevated with an aim of stimulating the most hesitant readers of monthly magazine to adhere. These erroneous declarations and this mode of counting of the members are connected so that it is possible to call one « prophecy car-director ». While being presented in the form of a dynamic movement, association instrumentalisé its initial success, which is not questioned, and thus caused new adhesions. The dynamism allotted to Attac would be the consequence of a strategy of presentation adopted by its founders. This setting in scene was made possible thanks to the very broad media cover from which association profited and who allowed to diffuse an image which was more the reflection of the will of the leaders that reality of association.

* ⁸⁹ Cf «  Numerical progression of adhesions  », appendix n°4, p. 10.

* ⁹⁰ Denis Pingaud, left of the left, Paris, ED Threshold, 2000, p. 94.

* ⁹¹ Attac, All on Attac, op.cit, p. 7.

* ⁹² «This would not be that by the swelling of these manpower Attac constitutes, at the end of these two years of existence a phenomenon with counter-current of the main tendencies of the political life [...] the development of association indeed was essential like a counterexample on the decline generalized of the traditional militances [...]». Weil (Nicolas), «  Attac. Ni normalizes Anglo-Saxon nor American model of dispute  », The World, 5/06/2000, p. 6

* ⁹³ Cf, Attac France, Report of turnover, 6/09/1999.

* ⁹⁴ Ibid

* ⁹⁵ Cf, Attac France, Report of turnover, 02/09/2000.

* ⁹⁶ Dély (Renaud), Losson (Christophe), «the PS overflowed by the Attac beachcomber  », Release, 21/06/2000, p. 12.

* ⁹⁷ F.K, «  Attac, this left which obstructs the left  », Express train, 14/06/2001, p. 92.

* ⁹⁸ Losson (Christophe), «  Flies of the stage coach of Attac  », Release, 27/08/2001, p. 9.

* ⁹⁹ «  Attac is organized  », The Diplomatic World, 08/1998, p. 2.

* ¹⁰⁰ «  Attac  », The Diplomatic World, 09/1998, p. 2.