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

2.2.1.3 A militancy « liability »

2.2.1.3.1 Which « reappropriation » of the ideas ?

The work of formation aims at making the militants ready to act on topics by the way of which they were inefficient before. It is about « réappropier » of the questions which were delegated to the only specialists before while making them available to all (from where the name from popular education). By their militancy, the members should thus smell themselves increasingly ready to include/understand the economic problems. However, three phenomena seem to prove the opposite. Initially, inquired express on several occasions, during talks, a feeling of incompetence. They tend, when it is a question of the methods of the Tobin tax for example, to be put in withdrawal. They often refer to the scientific Council of Attac to legitimate their remarks.

In addition, this feeling of incompetence explains why the militants of the committee carry out few diffusions of leaflets. If they carry out few public interventions on Grenoble, it would not be only for lack of time but, above all, because they do not feel sufficiently qualified to do it. For example, Cécile evokes the reaction of a militant who, during a meeting, explained that it was not able to argue the claims of association. François also supposes that there is an important difference between the arguments used in the national documents and the taking into account which is made by it at the local level. According to him, the technical questions, such as the problem of the retirements, are not controlled by the militants of the committee.

Lastly, the most relevant demonstration of this feeling of incompetence would be the relation which the local militants maintain with the members the scientific Council. The summer schools of the association' took the form of lectures^471(*). It is also on this mode that place had the popular weekend of education of the Blue Hour in Isere. Cecile considers it regrettable that the militants come to seek there information without allowing itself for all that to intervene at the end of the conferences. The talks/conferences which take place at certain public meetings also prevent, according to it, true a échange.Elle^472(*) explains besides why for this reason it preferred that militants of the group « campus » organize by themselves the technical debates. The recourse to an outside contributor is likely, according to it, not to make it possible to engage a real debate.

It would thus seem that the militants express a certain feeling of incompetence which is expressed in their report/ratio with information. While the militants fall under a step of reappropriation, they maintain a relation pure externality with information. Their report/ratio with the economy is comparable with the relation symbolic system which exist between crowned and the layman^473(*). Crowned is a quality which the layman grants to the things and which determines the relations that it maintains with them. Thus, as Roger Caillois notes it, the man testifies with respect to crowned a respect made to terror and confidence. Its use is controlled by a unit of initiatory rites; it is reserved for a minority of individuals. The militants testify to a similar relationship to the economic knowledge. They are only the vectors of transmission (just as the man is only the carrier of « fine words », image of crowned). The use of the knowledge is the fact of some eminent members of the scientific Council who enjoy a considerable prestige within association. The relation between the militants and them « scientists » are connected with an uneven relation, with a relation of domination.

Julie : What seems to me most important it is the finality, because it comes within political province, it comes within province of a choice and after one can reflect how y to arrive and one realize that it is not so difficult that that to set up bus apparently all the banks do it, all is recorded... Good it is not my field but it is not where the biggest problems are,

Cecile : Me there are many subjects on which I do not have a position. There are topics on which I take again the sales leaflet of Attac without inevitably seeking information [...] I think that there are many people of Attac which are like that. One had held a meeting with the Board of directors about going to see people and to distribute leaflets and me I was for, and there is a type which was militant trade-union during years, which must know ten times or things more that me, which said that it inevitably did not want to go to distribute a leaflet or to go to see people because he did not have the sales leaflet and that he did not know any sufficiently. One finds much this topic among people, this fear of not knowing, even if they do not want too to say it because it is founded on something like the will réapproprier and to include/understand the economic mechanisms. And him it was smelled badly at ease with going to distribute a leaflet. It is not a shame to go to say to somebody who puts questions that on top I do not know anything of it and I do not have an opinion. It is a culture of domination by the knowledge, I think.

François: I think in any event that there is no effective action without political reflection in the broad sense. There are no also political reflections which are not nourished of action and it is the social life [...] Now is what the to and from exists? I.e. basic structures nourishing the scientific Council? I think that through the popularizing works, that must exist but I do not think that all the network is seized some. I does not speak about all the militants and about all the members but I speak about all the structures. It is one of the difficulties which is not specific to Attac, it is very hard to make go down again the work of development which is made by the intellectual spheres of an association or a trade union. [...] For Attac it is similar, there are positions on the funds of pension and I am not sure that everyone controls this debate there today. I think that the national claims are right and are well worked, there is reflection which is solid. But on the local level people do not have the sales leaflet, the militants of Attac do not have arguments in hand, they can have it on paper some share but it is not acquired intellectually, they will not make use of it in a discussion. Attac there is a problem in the structure, it is that there are intellectual executives as the scientific Council which produces things but which is a little cut militant base.

Cecile : For example when one holds meetings on topics with Attac campus, one made the choice not make come each time an economist or a teacher from Attac to make us a talk. One only makes the talk all, i.e. there are a person or two which works a talk and which present it at the others, which are able to present it in a way a little more understandable than an economist would do it or a teacher and blow there is a debate which is established which is relatively levelling, because one is all students, therefore the person who will have made the talk, will have perhaps said words which will be rectified by the others. There you can really have a debate and position you. And I find that it is what misses in Attac Isere [...] In Attac Isere and it this debate does not have there there. I had been to the meetings of the Blue Hour and it is true that they are specialists [...] In Attac you nevertheless have this side popular education which makes that even the members of the Board of directors are perceived sometimes like the receivers of information and they transmit it to others and they do not think that with their positioning they can weigh in this information. And the Blue Hour it was a little that, it was a little one comes to seek information and analysis but in the debate one will not feel too much to intervene and in more it was a little the form of the debate which wanted that because when you are in a room with 200 people, you will intervene by saying that you do not agree or will not give your position. For the moment people are formed to be able to intervene and weigh on the political ideas.

F.E : If not do you think that the reflection is done on the level of Attac Isere, like it is done at the national level in the scientific Council?

François: [...] I think that there would be a reflection to have one on the type of action taken by the local collectives and the interaction that its can have with the scientific Council. I think that all is not fault of the base, I think that it is an operating mode which has limits because it there with the head and the base which tries to be seized some a little but which is confined with practical tasks. They are a little the arms.

* ⁴⁷¹ «  They more than 700, were aligned in the long market with the wood of the old shipyards of Ciotat, from all France, to initiate itself with this economy which, for the majority of them, remained a mysterious discipline. During four days, from the 23 to August 26, 2000, they were going to stoically support eight hours of teaching daily newspapers including six hours of lectures and two working hours in groups, with an intense thirst to learn and include/understand. One would have needed much more to discourage them that the teaching bombardment to which they were subjected. Because this first summer school contrary with what is generally done - was completely devoted to teaching, not with the small sentences of the big bosses  ». Passet (Rene), «  a thirst to include/understand  » in Attac, an economy with the service of the man, op.cit, pp. 17-20.

* ⁴⁷² One can also note that at certain meetings the presence of an expert, who is not always materially feasible, is replaced by the diffusion of documentary (the committee Attac Lyon, for example, in assembled a video on OMC) since the committee isérois has a video library. Cf, Attac Isere, management Report 2001, p. 2.

* ⁴⁷³ Cf, Caillois (Roger), the crowned man and, Paris, Reed Gallimard, 1988, 1st ED 1950, p. 247.