Ensemble!, officially Ensemble – Movement for a Leftist, Ecologist, and Solidary Alternative (), is a French

left-wing Left-wing politics describes the range of political ideologies that support and seek to achieve social equality and egalitarianism, often in opposition to social hierarchy. Left-wing politics typically involve a concern for those in soci ...

political party, defining itself as anti-capitalist,

anti-racist Anti-racism encompasses a range of ideas and political actions which are meant to counter racial prejudice, systemic racism, and the oppression of specific racial groups. Anti-racism is usually structured around conscious efforts and deliberate ...

, feminist and

eco-socialist Eco-socialism (also known as green socialism or socialist ecology) is an ideology merging aspects of socialism with that of green politics, ecology and alter-globalization or anti-globalization. Eco-socialists generally believe that the expansi ...

. It was launched in November 2013 by several smaller groupings.

History

The Anticapitalist Left (), a group formed in 2011 as a tendency within the Trotskyist-influenced New Anticapitalist Party (which it left in 2012) advocating an electoral strategy based on unity with other anti-neoliberal and anti-capitalist forces, in particular the Left Front; , a "red-green" organisation founded in 1988, some of whose roots go back to the Unified Socialist Party (French: Parti Socialiste Unifié, PSU), and influenced by the movement for

workers' control Workers' control is participation in the management of factories and other commercial enterprises by the people who work there. It has been variously advocated by anarchists, socialists, communists, social democrats, distributists and Christ ...

or self-management (French: "autogestion"). The (Fédération pour une Alternative Sociale et Ecologique, FASE), a group formed in 2008, including many former members of the French Communist Party, and including the association Communistes Unitaires. The membership of Ensemble is thus made up of activists coming from various left-wing and radical political traditions: altercommunist, trotskyist, feminist, "red-green", ecologist, etc., as well as trade unionists and global justice activists (alterglobalists). Paid-up membership in June 2015 was approximately 1,200 (internal sources), with several hundred sympathisers. The movement is a member of the Left Front (French: Front de Gauche), which also includes the

French Communist Party The French Communist Party (french: Parti communiste français, ''PCF'' ; ) is a political party in France which advocates the principles of communism. The PCF is a member of the Party of the European Left, and its MEPs sit in the European Un ...

and the Left Party (French: (Parti de Gauche)). The candidate of the Left Front, Jean-Luc Mélenchon of the Left Party, obtained 11.1% of the votes in the first round of the

2012 French presidential election Presidential elections were held in France on 22 April 2012 (or 21 April in some overseas departments and territories), with a second round run-off held on 6 May (or 5 May for those same territories) to elect the President of France (who is al ...

. Ensemble aims towards strengthening the Left Front by building a broad movement against austerity. It opposes all forms of inequality, racism, and oppression, including homophobia,

islamophobia Islamophobia is the fear of, hatred of, or prejudice against the religion of Islam or Muslims in general, especially when seen as a geopolitical force or a source of terrorism. The scope and precise definition of the term ''Islamophobia'' ...

, and

antisemitism Antisemitism (also spelled anti-semitism or anti-Semitism) is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who holds such positions is called an antisemite. Antisemitism is considered to be a form of racism. Antis ...

, and seeks to develop links with anti-capitalist groupings outside the Left Front, including more left-wing members of Europe Ecology - The Greens (French: Europe Ecologie-Les Verts). Internationally, it has been involved in discussions and joint activities with the

Party of the European Left The Party of the European Left (PEL), commonly abbreviated European Left, is a European political party that operates as an association of democratic socialist and communist political parties in the European Union and other European countries. ...

, Podemos (Spain), Syriza (Greece),

Sinn Féin Sinn Féin ( , ; en, " eOurselves") is an Irish republican and democratic socialist political party active throughout both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. The original Sinn Féin organisation was founded in 1905 by Arthur G ...

(Ireland), the Left Bloc (Portugal), and others. Ensemble was formally constituted at a conference held 31 January-1 February 2015 in Saint-Denis (Seine-Saint-Denis). Considering that the merger process had been successfully completed, most of its founding groups then decided to dissolve themselves. A national delegate meeting takes place in principle 3 times per year. A national coordinating committee ("Equipe d'Animation Nationale, EAN") meets weekly. Its spokespersons include Myriam Martin, Clémentine Autain and Jean-François Pellissier. Two former Members of Parliament, Jacqueline Fraysse and

François Asensi François Asensi (born 1 June 1945) is a French politician who has served as the Mayor of Tremblay-en-France since 1991 and served as Member of the National Assembly for Seine-Saint-Denis' 11th constituency from 1988 to 2017. Early life Fran� ...

, both former communists who left the

in 2010, were, until it was dissolved in 2015, members of the FASE, one of the original constituent groups of Ensemble. An unknown number of local elected officials (including Mayors) and councillors are also members or associates of Ensemble. Philippe Marlière, professor of political science at University College London, and a long-standing member of the French Socialist Party, and later of the New Anticapitalist Party, joined Ensemble in February 2015. The headquarters of the movement is in Bagnolet (Seine-Saint-Denis), near Paris. Ensemble! has a website which is regularly updated, and publishes bulletins, leaflets, and occasional brochures. Members of the movement are free to publish articles on the website, using a blog facility. The movement holds an annual summer school (French: 'université d'été') in August. The first was held in Pau, with approximately 300 participants. The second took place at the university of Bordeaux from 22 to 26 August 2015, attracting approximately 420 participants.

References

{{Authority control 2013 establishments in France Party of the European Left Political movements in France Political parties established in 2013 Socialist parties in France