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

1.3.3 Adhesion like individual act

Without the presence of people morals, Attac would undoubtedly not have had the attractivity from which it profited dice its departure. Moreover, the majority of surveyed consider that the founder members had a role necessary in the launching of Attac. The participation of the people morals in association would facilitate, according to some, the setting in network of the organizations. For example, for Thomas who knows many associations on Grenoble, the adhesion of various organizations with Attac makes it possible to take joint actions. Work in collective is facilitated by the fact that organizations are represented in association. When Thomas was a president of the committee isérois, one of its principal tasks was precisely to establish a coordination of associations and trade unions through Attac.

Others are less enthusiastic, and are unfavourable so that the founder members can take part in the operation of association. For example, Luc recognizes that the people morals had an important role in launching. Their support made it possible to create a dynamics which was advantageous. On the other hand, the participation of the founder members in the course of association is not desirable. First of all, according to Luc, the adhesion of an organization is likely to start conflicts. According to him, divergences can occur on certain standpoint, which can bring to a blocking. The adhesion of the individuals seems more logical to him than that of the people morals, bus, in the event of difficulty, an individual can be disengaged more easily than an association. In addition, the participation of the founder members is not, according to Luc, materially realizable. The fact of militating in several associations prevents an implication which is sufficiently strong. This is why, he regrets that the founder members are not more present at the national Boards of directors or that certain members of the turnover of Attac Isere are retained in their respective organizations. The principal risk, according to Luc, it is that the adhesion of the people morals replaces that of the individuals. The founder members have thus a role to play during the launching of association, but they should not take part in its development. It is preferable that the organizations present withdraw movement gradually. Luc points out that it is what was held after the foundation of Attac Isere^345(*). The founder members little by little left the association which was taken again by people not laying out, for the majority, several adhesions.

Some, finally, are hostile to the founder members and consider it regrettable that association was launched by a whole of organizations. Lionel, which adhered in 1998, did not know during its adhesion that associations or trade unions had adhered to Attac. It regarded association as a regrouping « spontaneous individuals » acting in a step common but clean to each individual. It is gradually that it became aware owing to the fact that certain militants represented other organizations and were « supported by a structure ». The presence of this « machine » into the launching of Attac it introduces « risk of a instrumentalisation ».

To answer these various reactions, a debate proceeded, during the plenary assembly of January 10, at the end which a proposal was voted : « Attac is a movement citizen. No matter who can, insofar as it adheres to the national charter, request his adhesion from Attac, whatever his commitments entered into in other movements (left, trade unions, associations, communities, elected officials, etc). [It was one] very majority position. »^346(*). However, in this case of figure, the initiative of the adhesion which is allotted to the individual takes precedence over the fact that it is representing it of a legal entity. Individual adhesion takes precedence over the representation of the organization. Better, the individual is perceived, as Julie testifies some, like the result of a combination of distinct adhesions.

F.E : The fact that people morals can adhere to Attac, for you...

Thomas: for me that does not pose a problem, there are statutes which were set up, even if there are certain things in the statutes which displease to me compared to the representativeness of the local committees which is difficult to digest... compared to the people morals that does not disturb me absolutely. Me I am exaggerated, an exaggerated collectivist and I can work in committee, in collective... [...] As soon as one can work together... When I was a president, I precisely tried to make function the networks with people whom I knew besides and set up a collective for me it is very important.

Lionel : [...] I discovered rather quickly that there were many personalities morals which were used as stopping in Attac what enough curious. I discovered it at the end of the first year when I took part in Attac in a rather naive way because I imagined that they was people a little as me who had gathered individually. And makes of it, I realized that for a certain number, all and sundry are supported by a structure. Even if the initiative were done on a purely individual basis, behind there are already groups made up. Groups of journalists or associations or then on the level of the trade unions. [...] It was not only any more for me a spontaneous movement individuals. I found that curious. Surely Attac would not be created without these groupings. Then it is true that Igniacio Ramonet has a certain share of charisma and it is very insufficient to launch an association, there is always a machine. Who says machine says the risk of a instrumentalisation. It is always the risk... Finally for me!

F.E : On the other hand, Attac was launched at the national level by several associations...

Luc: [...] But it is similar at the national level, if they had not met, Attac would not have existed. On Isere if they had not met for saying «One launches a local section Isere of Attac», it would not have had Attac Isere there. Thus they sponsored well. On Attac national, associations are members of the Board of directors but they do not take part in it! They do not take part in the meetings because each one goes in its own association, their own boards of directors. They are invested in the Boards of directors of their association. There is not even vote most of the time in the national Board of directors [...] Me I am against the adhesion of other associations. Because an association has its own objectives ! That does not want to say that one does not work with those which have common objectives, there are boards of directors which discuss between them and the risk to have contradictions with these associations there. Days ago when one is likely to have contradictions with the citizen lambda and if there is a majority position and that somebody does not divide it, it from goes away!

Luc : Me I was ready from the beginning to give a blow of hand, as of the second meeting I was to see the members who seemed to me active and I said to them that I was ready to give them a blow of hand and they proposed to me to contribute to the board of directors [...] At the time, they were very numerous and manpower of the Board of directors were reduced. One found oneself to 7/8, because people gave up [...] It was, I think of people who had taken part in the creation of the committee. That was to be people coming from other associations members founders of Attac. Because a Board of directors must be created by the founder members of Attac. They decided to launch that and then gradually they left.

Julie : Because in any event each individual adheres to several associations and it is the result of all that, i.e. of all these adhesions and its reflections. Attac belongs to an association which makes it possible to reflect, to position.

These divergences of appreciation within the local committee caused debates recently^347(*), at the time of the participation of the committee isérois in the launching of an association. The C.ADTM (Committee for the Cancellation of the Debt of the Third World) is a network of associations which militates on the question of the inequalities between North and the South but which widened its field of claims considerably^348(*). The C.ADTM supports, inter alia, the idea of a tax on the financial transactions. Its president, Eric All Saints' day, is in addition, member of the scientific Council of Attac and journalist in the diplomatic World. A group of the C.ADTM was recently created on Grenoble. The members of the committee isérois agreed to take part in its launching because they estimated that two associations present similarities of objectives. Indeed, the cancellation of the debt of the Third World is one of the principal claims of Attac and the committee has a ' think tank ' which is devoted to this topic. Attac took part in the launching of the C.ADTM, of coordination with the Information center inter-people (CIIP). However, two difficulties appeared. Initially, there are for the moment only associations which can adhere to the C.ADTM and, in addition, certain members of the committee would like that Attac Isere adheres. The president of the local committee, Luc, positions among those which refuse this adhesion. The participation in launching, according to him, was conditioned in the withdrawal of association. It is not thus a question of adhering, as an association, with the C.ADTM. What Luc wishes to establish, it is a coordination and a co-operation of two associations on a common topic.

Luc : At the time of the preceding board of directors, one spoke about the C.ADTM where there is an ambiguity. One took part in the launching of a section on Grenoble for the committee of cancellation of the debt of the Third World, one sponsored the first meeting with the center inter people. Me, I went there with the spirit of saying that one is there to launch a section of the C.ADTM but one is not there to deal with section of the C.ADTM. One is there, if there are people who are voluntary but if nobody is voluntary one does not do it. And compared to that currently, they are not clear whole, because in their committee of cancellation of the debt of the Third World, there are for the moment only these associations which adhere, therefore people who are already in the associative medium. Us, one launched a group C.ADTM in order to engage a research topic on the debt of the Third World and me that clearly appeared to me to say that people of this group, if it take part in the C.ADTM, they decide on what they do compared to him but the discussion which took place, they was people who said «one needs that one adheres to the C.ADTM as Attac Isere», there are people who said which me «not, one does not adhere to the C.ADTM! ». If necessary, one can go on actions on the topic of the debt, if the group of the debt decides to take part with them it decides it but one does not adhere as an association, one works with them. Because there is that associations which adhere and it are no individuals. What does that cover?

The Nineties were remembered by a wave of social conflicts. It proves that they had few consequences on the engagement of the militants isérois. Indeed, only the militants already inserted in organizations had an active participation in these events. On the other hand, they started a change in the form of the mobilizations. The structure of the network spread. This phenomenon was accentuated during the mobilizations « anti-mondialistes ». The against-tops gather a relatively restricted number of actors who established bonds with the wire of the mobilizations. Attac has a double specificity. Association was born from its networks. But in addition, it wishes to gather and federate the anti-mondialistes organizations. Thus networks were reinforced between the trade unions and associations. However, this configuration which was established at the national level is much less present at the local level. How to give an account of this difference ? It would seem that the militants of the committee are more refractory with the participation of the people morals in Attac. The enthusiasm of the national leaders for the network is not setting within the committee isérois. Many militants are disappointed trade-union engagement. They are also rather hostile with respect to the political parties. These two characteristics explain why the militants isérois testify a certain mistrust. They fear a political attempt at recovery.

However, the militants isérois seem to go, once more, against the evolutions which the militancy knows. The new fashion of participation that Martine Barthélémy and Jacques Ion outline supposes an individual design of adhesion. It is indeed the representation of the militants. On the other hand, it is not accompanied by a transitivity of adhesions. Very little of inquired multiplies the memberships^349(*). It thus appears necessary to call into question the innovation by which one qualified the militants initially.

The militancy specific to Attac would be registered in modernity. Contrary to specific and material engagements, it would symbolize the return of engagements for « great causes ». The militant is not heard any more like that which « follows » passively with the image of the large trade-union machines and policies which have a crisis of engagement at the end of the Eighties causes. From now on, Attacant would be militant which combines reflection and action. For that, it operates an intense work of economic formation which makes it suited to réapproprier a speech which the specialists seized a long time. It is by questioning these assumptions that it will be possible to determine which type of militance takes place within Attac.

* ³⁴⁵ We point out, that currently, among the members of the turnover of Attac Isere, only one person (Thomas) took part in the creation of the committee.

* ³⁴⁶ Attac Isere, Position of Attac Isere on the adhesion of the parties and communities. Cf, appendix n°17, p. 35.

* ³⁴⁷ These discussions had at the time of the turnover of June 5 2001d' Attac Isere.

* ³⁴⁸ «  The Committee for the Cancellation of the Debt of the Third World is an international network which militates for [...] information, the sensitizing of the broadest possible public on the question of the North-South inequalities (works, review, conference-debates, formations, meetings international, etc) [...] The angle of attack of the C.ADTM is the debt of the Third World, with like objective cancelling the public foreign debt of the Third World and then breaking the infernal spiral of the debt by the establishment of socially right and ecologically durable models of development. To this end, the C.ADTM militates for the constitution of development funds democratically controlled by the local populations and supplied with the cancellation of the public foreign debt of the Third World; the retrocession of the badly acquired goods; tax on the financial transactions (tax of the Tobin type); increase in the Government Aid to the Development with 0,7% of the GDP of the rich countries; establishment of an exceptional world tax on large fortunes; the conversion of the world military expenditure into welfare expenditures and cultural. Lastly, the C.ADTM encourages the emancipation of the women, the radical land reform and the generalized reduction of the working time  ». Internet site  : http://users.skynet.be/cadtm/.

* ³⁴⁹ Among inquired, Cecile, François and Thomas cumulate political, associative or trade-union affiliations. However, Cecile and François are engaged little in the committee isérois. They are not in addition «  new militants  ». They do not appear, according to us, representative of the militants isérois.