Outrage in France for Mélenchon’s defense of the deputy who slapped his wife in the face

The scandal broke last week in the neighboring country after it was leaked to the press that Adrien Quatennens, one of the heavyweights of the radical left party France Insumisa (LFI), had been reported to the Police by his wife, Céline. This Monday, the Lille Prosecutor’s Office announced that it has opened an investigation into the police complaint filed by his wife.

According to the version that the deputy Quatennens has made public through a statement that he has shared on Twitter, what happened is that he slapped his wife, from whom he is divorcing. And that has provoked a debate among left-wing leaders about the need for him to withdraw from public activity or to continue in it.

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The focus of the controversy is on the position of “number one” of LFI, Jean-Luc Mélenchonwho in his first public statement on the matter charged against the police, the media and the social networks that leaked the events, while celebrating the “dignity” and “value” of Quatennens, to whom he expressed his “trust” and his “affected”.

Subsequently, Mélenchon wanted to rectify and He pointed out that his “affection for him does not mean that he does not empathize with Céline” and that “a slap in the face is unacceptable in any case”, according to Eph.

Adrien Quatennens has announced that he is stepping down as LFI coordinator to protect the party and its members.

Until now “number two” of the Mélenchon formation acknowledged that the couple’s relationship had “deteriorated” and that they were planning to divorce after 13 years together. But he also admitted that during an argument he “sprained Céline’s wrist” and took her mobile.

“To retrieve it, she jumped on my back. I threw her off me and in doing so she hit her elbow,” according to Quatennens’ version of the statement. And he described an earlier dispute in which “in a context of extreme tension and mutual aggression, I slapped him across the face … an action that I deeply regret and for which I have apologized many times.”

The harshest criticism against Adrien Quatennens has been that of the LFI MEP Manon Aubrywhich he requested this Monday at the station France Info that Justice open an investigation into the case of what has been until now the “number two” of Mélenchon’s party.

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Also the environmentalist deputy Sandrine Rousseau (LFI is associated with his party in the leftist coalition NUPES) has demanded that Quatennens withdraw from all political activity and he has also demanded that his formation sanction him.