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

2.1.1.2 Association : an organization with flexible operation

Vis-a-vis these modes of organization which do not correspond to waitings of certain members, Attac is presented like a structure « flexible », in which the initiative and liberty of action is very important^183(*). For Julie, while the political and trade-union structures appear « old women » and « solidified », Attac represents an association « very young person », in « construction » and of which emerged are dubious. It evokes one « continuous creation ». The associative form which is framed, would allow more « confrontation », of « seek » and of « reflection », whether within a party or of a trade union.

Associative form A seems you he contributed to the engagement of several members. It is a question for them of taking part in one « experiment ». Lionel was justified by one « intellectual curiosity » which led it to be interested in becoming movement. It is also for this reason that it went to AG of St Brieuc, in October 2000. It seems very interested by the conflict which exists between the local committees and the national direction. In the same way what challenged Julie, these are not the claims that Attac defends, it is above all the form of militancy which was proposed. Attac launched, according to it, a call to « to awake the citizen » and with « to reflect together to see how that can move ». Julie represents her engagement like one « experiment » of mobilization. It is about the advisability of again taking part in something and of seeing how association evolves/moves. In addition, Julie, perceives the problems of internal democracy and the combat, in which it takes part, for the recognition of the local committees like a first challenge with « to change the things ». The problems with the national direction does not constitute a factor of demobilization in its engagement. On the contrary, it acts for Julie, of an additional motivation because these problems return, according to her, with the slogan defended by Attac, namely : « It is together about réapproprier the future of our world ». What has place in association precedes what can take place has a scale of « community of country ». By the innovation of its form Attac would symbolize a first social change. It is about an experiment « on a scale which makes it possible to include/understand what occurs », while the mechanisms of finance have a dimension which him « escape ». 

Julie : Attac is a very young association and one does not know what that will give [...] For me what is important it is that it is an association which gives the possibility to people of reflecting, one meets a diversity of people whom I find very interesting. As from the moment when will have structured itself in the form of political party, one will not gain an opening and there will be the fine words and all this side, the a little parallel reflections that will not be any more one reflector space and confrontation, of research bus for the Attac moment for me it is that, a continuous creation. For me what interesting it is that that called upon each citizen [...] But I find nevertheless that there are interesting things, I find that it is tonic, perhaps that in five or six years Attac will have become a routine association and that that will have changed

Lionel : I find that rather interesting. In was my motivation to join Attac Isere, there the idea to meet people with whom one divides something and then also by intellectual curiosity on the creation of a movement which is created, to what that corresponds, what is played? Thus there it was rather dimension close to my not professional interests but to interests for the psychosociological glance, all the dimension of the social sciences compared to this human group with a phenomenon which appears very current to me in our time. It is something which is born, which tries to react to problems with all that touches the social life and the individual [...] There was a political effect in this assembly owing to the fact that for Paris, their concerns are as a creator of Attac and there is a phenomenon which overflows the intellectual framework by which that created. It is rather interesting to see this sling that it could there y have at one time given between the local committees and the office of Paris, this research to be made recognize and to say Attac it is not simply the office of an association they are also all people who make it up. Me I was going there to see.

Julie : But me particularly it is not that which attracted me, it is that at the same time it tackled problems and a vision of the world and that it said to each one one will reflect together to see how that can move. I returned not in organization which was old, which was already installed and which had already a very precise policy, I returned in an association which called upon each one and which was to thus build it is an experiment. There are things which go, which evolves/moves, there are conflicts, the things which go well, of the interesting things but also of confrontations, but also of the things with which one does not agree and it is necessary to see whether one is able to make move also inside even of Attac the things with which one does not agree. How can be negotiated different opinions? How can one manage to produce something together? Because I say myself if one is able to do it in Attac, it does not have no reason there so that one cannot do it elsewhere i.e. in other groups and why not on the level of a community much larger, a community of country... It is perhaps completely utopian but I think that the advantage of Attac it is that it is something which begins and which builds from day to day [...] Alors I think that it is interesting because it is still with my measurement on the level of the wheels, as much on the level it financial capacity there is something of very complicated and there are things which escape to us, Attac association is still on a scale which makes it possible to include/understand what occurs and that interests me much to see how it evolves/moves and to see what occurs, how it will evolve/move and how each militant who is in Attac and who Attac came because it was precisely the result of a call to awake the citizen who is of each one of us, how it will manage and how will make live its within the association which claims EC objective [...] It is true that for me it is an experiment what occurs there, it is an experiment to see an important mobilization which can change something if there is indeed this possibility of making pressure to change what I do not like [...] Is one still able to mobilize oneself and move so that really one is made hear as men and women of this world? Me it is what interests me.

* ¹⁸³ One can observe that the leaders describe Attac like a flexible structure. Indeed, the autonomy of the local committees is often proposed within the official booklets or in the press. «  This expansion, this diversity also comes from the structure even of association. A word summarizes it  : flexibility. The committees work in all autonomy what facilitates the assumption of responsibility of initiatives the most original ones that the others  ». «  Attac, an idea which goes  », Humanity hebdo, 23-24/10/1999, p. 12.