Léon Deffontaines (born March 15, 1996, in Amiens) is a French politician from the French Communist Party.

Léon Deffontaines
Léon Deffontaines in 2023.
General Secretary of the Young Communist Movement of France
In office
June 2019 – 1 July 2023
Personal details
Born (1996-03-15) March 15, 1996 (age 28)
Amiens, France
Political partyFrench Communist Party

In 2013, he joined the Young Communist Movement of France and was its general secretary from 2019 to 2023.

Deffontaines was spokesperson for Fabien Roussel during the 2022 French presidential election, he is designated lead candidate for the communists for the 2024 European Parliament elections in France.

Biography edit

Léon Deffontaines is born 15 March 1996.[1] Is the son of a florist and a psychologist and comes from a family of farmers.[2][3] In 2013, he joined the Young Communist Movement of France. In 2014, when he was 18 years old and a high school student in his economic and social final year, he was a candidate for the 2014 municipal elections in Amiens.[1][4]

Deffontaines began studying law and political science, as well as education, and took on multiple odd jobs. He was then a member of a homework help association for young people in difficulty in sensitive areas of the city of Amiens and intended to become a teacher.[5]

His first years of communist activism were marked by the struggle of employees at the Goodyear site in Amiens, whose closure in 2014 led to the dismissal of more than 1,100 people, and the mobilizations against the reforms of François Hollande.[6] Il est secrétaire fédéral dans la Somme du Mouvement des jeunes communistes de France en 2016. Puis, il est élu secrétaire général de ce mouvement en 2019 jusqu'à juin 2023.[3][7]

Deffontaines was spokesperson for Fabien Roussel during the 2022 French presidential election.[6]

In June 2023, while he is spokesperson for the French Communist Party, he is expected to head the communist list during the 2024 European Parliament elections in France. It is also envisaged that it will be in first position for the communists in the case of a common list with other parties.[8][9] On 1 July 2023, he was designated, by the national council of the PCF, the lead candidate for the communists for the 2024 European elections.[3] PCF members must decide in mid-October whether their party will present an independent candidacy or join an alliance.[10]

Work edit

  • Pour que jeunesse se fasse. Le Temps des cerises. 22 September 2022. p. 100. ISBN 978-2-37071-252-3.

References edit

  1. ^ a b Alexandre Boudet (2014-03-14). "Municipales: il est candidat alors qu'il n'a pas encore 18 ans". HuffPost (in French). Retrieved 2023-06-26..
  2. ^ "Européennes 2024 : qui est Léon Deffontaines, désigné tête de liste des communistes ?". Ouest-France. 2023-07-02. Retrieved 2023-07-03..
  3. ^ a b c "Européennes : Léon Deffontaines désigné " chef de file " des communistes". Le Monde (in French). 2023-07-01. Retrieved 2023-07-01..
  4. ^ "Liste Lutte ouvrière, faire entendre le camp des travailleurs". Ministère de l’Intérieur et des Outre-mer (in French). 2014. Retrieved 2023-06-26..
  5. ^ Justine Faure (2023-06-30). "5 choses à savoir sur Léon Deffontaines, en passe d'être désigné chef de file des communistes aux européennes". tf1info.fr. Retrieved 2023-07-03..
  6. ^ a b Lola Ruscio (2022-12-30). "Léon Deffontaines, l'atout jeunesse du PCF". L'Humanité (in French). Retrieved 2023-06-26..
  7. ^ Marceau Taburet (2022-12-27). "Léon Deffontaines, secrétaire général des Jeunes communistes : "Le look coco, c'est le rétro qui revient à la mode"". Libération (in French). Retrieved 2023-06-26..
  8. ^ Célestine Gentilhomme (2023-06-22). "Léon Deffontaines, le discret soldat de Fabien Roussel". Le Figaro (in French). Retrieved 2023-06-26..
  9. ^ Cyprien Caddeo (2023-06-21). "Européennes : Léon Deffontaines proposé comme chef de file des communistes". L'Humanité (in French). Retrieved 2023-06-26..
  10. ^ Léna Coulon (2023-07-01). "Léon Deffontaines, jeune communiste à l'assaut des européennes". liberation.fr. Retrieved 2023-07-03..