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

1.1.2.3 Strategy of mediatization

As of its launching, Attac profited from a very marked interest on behalf of the media. At the time of the first months, many articles reported the constitution of association. The first national meetings, which took place on October 17, 1998 in Ciotat, also were very followed by the media, while association entered less than 4000 members. The press seems to have testified to an interest for the association which appears disproportionate in comparison with the growth of the movement. Besides this interest seems to be reciprocal because association is not indifferent to the glance which the media carry to him. It is, of course, essential for the majority of the organizations which wish to occupy the public sphere to profit from a media relay. However, the documents of association devote much importance to the articles which the press publishes on Attac. Two months after launching, an article of the diplomatic World noticed that « as proves it several articles commenting on its creation, in particular that published in the Point, Attac disturbs already : it is a good sign ! An additional reason so that association is as strong as possible with the re-entry »^101(*). Bernard Cassen does not hesitate to interpret the mediatization of the movement like a sign of success^102(*). The examples could be multiplied. This mediatization, according to us, is amplified. It also concerns a phenomenon « of car realization » the purpose of which is to achieve what is marked. The speech does not exert only in this situation a declaratory function, but it also has a performative provision, i.e. it exerts an action on the reality of which it claims to return account^103(*).

The mediatization from which Attac profited explains by certain strategies which were installation as of its creation. First of all, the launching of association by a whole of people morals, but especially of physical people who are for the majority « famous », account of this will returns to promote Attac within the media. How to explain differently the presence of Manu Chao within a committee made up primarily of economists and researchers ? In addition, the presence of many newspapers (eight) within the people morals testifies to the attempt at publiciser the constitution of association. The first articles devoted to Attac were published besides by these reviews.

The leaders always knew to make profitable the media in the development of Attac^104(*). As of June, conferences press national were organized on the initiative of the office. Association was availability of the journalists to facilitate their work. This mediatization was reinforced since the conference of Seattle, in December 1999, as from which the against-tops multiplied. Moreover, in the media, Attac is put in front of excessive way with respect to the other organizations which are present. Thus, at the time of the unit actions, Attac generally holds it « high paving stone » and « steal the high-speed motorboat » with the other organizations present. It is difficult to give an account of this phenomenon^105(*). However, it would seem that he can be explained partly by an attempt deliberated on behalf of the leaders to accentuate the mediatization of the movement. For example, at the time of the against-top of Genoa, which was held from the 16 to July 22, 2001, a demonstration took place on July 17 on the initiative of Attac^106(*). The organizers of the Attac group made circulate information and the starting place. However, it proved, which there was within the procession only one « around fifty » of militants, that is to say as far as the number of journalists. That testifies to a will of médiatiser the movement to the detriment of a real representativeness of the demonstration. This anecdote returns account in a precise way of the strategies which are privileged by the national direction of Attac^107(*).

The mediatization from which Attac would profit would be more the result of a setting in scene and a work of publicisation of the image of association that a real reflection of the importance of the movement. A fact can support this assumption : while association benefitted from the interest of the media as of its launching, the committee isérois was médiatisé only very tardily. The committee was created in November 1998 but until December 2000, at the time of the congress of the P.S which took place in Grenoble, the presence of Attac Isere in the local newspapers is quasi non-existent. Luc, the president isérois, explains besides that no journalist presented himself at the press conferences which were organized. On the other hand, the articles have multiplied for a few months. At the time of the procession of May 1, an article of Dauphine Released note the presence of an Attac procession^108(*). In the same way, an article reports the day of action devoted to the tax havens organized by the committee. An article of Dauphine Released was devoted exclusively to the local committee. Lastly, a journalist was charged to follow to Genoa the militants isérois come to express. This media cover, from which currently the committee profits, can seem rather late compared to echo from which association at the national level profited. That would confirm the fact that there was a on-mediatization of Attac, this one being due, partly, with a setting in scene of the presence of association within public space.

Luc: Recently, one starts to be taken with serious by the Dauphine one Released, one met this morning a radio extremist. But in my opinion, one does not do enough information compared to the media. It is necessary also that they are open. Now, it seems that one passes there. It would be necessary that one systematically sends all our files to all the media but we do not have his contacts. This known as we made several times of the press conferences where nobody came. For example before a demonstration whatever it is, one tried several times to make press conferences. It is since one month or two, that that really starts to go.

The installation of association does not correspond to the spontaneousness which assert the national leaders. It would seem that this representation results from a process of setting in scene of launching of association and of its image. It is by presenting Attac like a dynamic movement directed towards « modernity » (by the topic of universalization) and which is anchored in an associative tradition (popular education) that a whole of sympathies and engagements could be born. This revival of engagement citizen would be thus primarily a construction. It is not a question to deny the effectivity of this engagement but simply to call into question spontaneousness from it.

However this adequately does not explain the reasons for this setting in scene. The movement has from now on a certain dynamics and it does not appear necessary any more to promote it in an excessive way. Moreover, why want to naturalize the creation of Attac by presenting association like the emanation of the citizens ? It would seem that this representation aims at legitimating the fact that Attac was creates in a national way. Attac is before a whole movement of citizens. This is why the role of the national would not be « to direct » members of the association but of « to coordinate ». The national and the room thus appear as two authorities which are essential one with the other. 1.2 Dialectical enters the room and the national ?

The leading article « To disarm the markets » corresponds to the intellectual reference of Attac; it is for this reason one of the most essential texts of the movement. However, it is equipped with no legal authenticity. It is in June 1998, that is to say six months after, that the statutory bases are elaborate. They assign to the acronym formulated by Ramonet the legal personality. What was not before pious ideas and wishes in the article of the Diplomatic World becomes consequently of the claims. A whole organization, statutory but so material, is gradually installation in order to support the fight against the financial markets.

* ¹⁰¹ «  Attac is organized  », art.cit, p. 2.

* ¹⁰² «  One learns the every day from them on Attac  : it is enough to consult the many regional newspaper cuttings which reach us daily and which bring back the plentiful activities of the local committees. Without speaking about the analyzes that publish in a rate/rhythm accelerated the national media and certain theoretical reviews, for which it is necessary to add the first university work. It is that the Attac phenomenon intrigues and sometimes even disconcerts  ». Attac,  All on Attac, op.cit, p. 7.

* ¹⁰³ The British philosopher Austin distinguished in his theory from the language two types of statements  : certain statements have a constatative or descriptive function, while the statements performatifs correspond to acts of language, i.e. they are used to act on others. From this distinction, Austin will deduce that any act of stating is carrying contents locutoire (interpreted in term of direction) and of a value illocutoire of acts of speech. Austin defines the latter as being «  an act carried out by saying something, par opposition à' act to say something  ». Austin (John), How to C Things with words, Oxford U.P., 1962  ; transl. G. Lane, When to say, it is to make, Paris, Seuil, 1970, pp. 122-113. City in Morichère (Bernard), Philosophers and

philosophies, Paris, Nathan, Volume 2, pp. 445-446.

* ¹⁰⁴ One can note besides that this is not the characteristic of Attac, since the methods used are close to that which Jose Bove had implemented at the time of the disassembling of McDonald' S of Milleau.

* ¹⁰⁵ One could quote, for example, a whole of articles of press devoted to unit demonstrations where the name of Attac is, very often, one of only which appears.

* ¹⁰⁶ These remarks were reported to us by militant of the committee isérois which took part in this demonstration, then they were confirmed by another Parisian militant met in Genoa. Not having taken part personally in this demonstration, we make a point of taking certain reserves on this information who would ask to be recut by other sources.

* ¹⁰⁷ We also could observe the dissatisfaction with several militants during the Summit of Genoa, for which the aim by the national direction of Attac would be above all, to obtain a certain media success, rather than to make really succeed the claims which the movement is carrying.

* ¹⁰⁸ J-P-F, «  Under the sun  ? Not exactly...  », the Dauphine one Released, 2/05/2001.