Core Executive Summary:
1. As an immigrant from the West African country of Côte d'Ivoire, Rachel Keck spent her first time in France and later found a job as a cleaning maid in a hotel. Rachel, who began to pull four younger siblings at the age of 12 and now raises five children, knows best the difficulties and aspirations of the working people at the bottom, so she is more and more determined to speak out for those who are "not seen".
2. In July 2019, Rachel led 20 employees in a 22-month strike struggle against unjustified wages, outsourced cleaners, unpaid overtime, poor working conditions, racism and sexual harassment at work, and finally succeeded. After this, Rachel did not stop, but chose to join the French Left Alliance to speak out for more "unseen people".
3. In france's second round of parliamentary elections, which just concluded on June 19, Rachel, 48, defeated former swimming world champion and former French sports minister Roxana Marasinhanu to become a member of the National Assembly. Rachel's victory was a symbol of the recent revival of the left in French politics and a wake-up call for the current president, Macron, and the centrist alliance he represents. The entry of low-level civilians, represented by Rachel, into the National Assembly reflects the anger of the French people against the political elite. A great change may be in the process of being nurtured.
Author 丨 "Phoenix Great Reference" special author Guo Fang
On June 19, Rachel Keke, 48, won the decisive second round of parliamentary elections for the seventh constituency in Valdesmaine, France, with 51.38% of the vote, becoming a member of the National Assembly for a five-year term. And her strongest rival, former French Minister of Sport Roxana Malatkinanu lost to Rachel with 48.62% of the vote.
Since the elections began, Rachel has been seen as a symbol of the recent revival of the left in French politics. The soaring popularity of the 48-year-old black woman also signals that the left will become the main force in the French parliament against Macron's government.
"For the sake of my children, I must summon up courage"
Rachel Keck was born in the West African country of Côte d'Ivoire, which means "ivory coast" in French. Rachel's father was a bus driver and her mother was a clothes seller. Her mother died when she was 12 years old, so she had to leave school to take on the role of "mother" who cared for her 4 siblings. Those years were fairly calm, according to Rachel's sister, "She (Rachel) was cautious," the sister told the media.
Rachel Keck Image source/Reporterre
However, this relatively peaceful life was soon broken. In 1999, there was a coup d'état in Côte d'Ivoire, and in 2000 Rachel and her family arrived in France with two suitcases. "I love France" — Rachel recalls hearing stories about her grandfather as a child, who fought in the southwestern French city of Paul in World War II.
During her first time in France, Rachel's life was chaotic: she often moved, torn between a humble residence on the outskirts of Paris and a friend's apartment; In order to escape the unhealthy housing environment and support her 5 children, Rachel has worked as a hairdresser, a supermarket cashier, and a family helper for the elderly. "I wanted to find a job with flexible time so I could pick up my kids and send them to school." Eventually, she became a maid at the ibis hotel in Batigninos. For 15 years, she had to clean as many as 40 rooms a day.
"After the first day I came home, I was sore. I seemed to be beaten everywhere. It was really uncomfortable. Rachel said cleaning is a "body-destroying" job. "But I told myself that for the sake of my children, I had to muster up courage."
Become the "Spokesperson for the Silent"
Rachel became a French citizen in 2015 and began focusing on her rights as a worker. "I didn't know anything about unions, and that immediately caught my attention. That day, I realized that someone could fight with me. ”
Rachel's heavy life in the hotel has made her more determined to speak out for the "unseen".
In July 2019, she led some 17 maids, most of whom were migrant women from sub-Saharan Africa, two housekeepers and a partner in a tug-of-war with Accor, the global hotel giant with the Ibis Hotel des Batignolles, in demand of better jobs and pay. The strike lasted 22 months until It ended in victory in May 2021. It was one of the longest strikes in French history. They won a raise of 250 to 500 euros ($270-540) a month.
In March 2020, the waitresses of the ibis Batignolles hotel held a demonstration in Strasbourg Photo source/Alternatives Economiques
In addition to the pay raises, Rachel and her colleagues' protests include outsourcing cleaners, unpaid overtime, poor working conditions, racism and sexual harassment encountered at work (such as male hotel customers exposing their genitals to cleaners).
Ibis hotel reference map
Claude Ievy, a colleague involved in the strike, said: "She was a real fighter and when we met her during this strike, she quickly took on the responsibility of representing her colleagues. Colleagues praised this "self-taught talent in the struggle."
"In this struggle, I saw everything. We were treated like children, humiliated, insulted. We often have doubts, but we never give up. Rachel said. Now I have a net monthly income of 1700 euros, compared to 1300 euros before, "as a result of the collective struggle, Rachel and her colleagues have been able to reduce the intensity of their work and the cost of lunch can be reimbursed."
But Rachel doesn't want to stop at a temporary solution to the problem at hand. The poor working conditions of hotel cleaners are just a microcosm of the difficulties faced by the entire "invisible man" industry, such as supermarket cashier employees or store security guards, who stand there all day and are not allowed to sit down.
"I realized I could protect other people too," she said. These women often neither read nor write, and they become very small and helpless. ”
Rachel, who became the "voice of the silent," continued: "Most of the people who take public transport at 4 a.m. are immigrants. I also support them. ”
The working class from the suburbs knocked on the door of the National Assembly
Running for the National Assembly was not originally part of Rachel's plan until local Syriza official Hadi Isanane made a proposal to her.
"We are not far from her becoming a symbol of our political struggle," Isanine said, "and she naturally embodies that." Left-wing lawmaker Eric Coquil said Keck "has some kind of magnetism in him." "She is what I call the leader of the masses. She is strong, always finds the right words, and doesn't need to read from hints when speaking."
"We Created France: If We Don't Work, There's No France" is one of Rachel's manifestos in Image Source/Franceinfo
During Macron's re-election campaign in May, Rachel joined Mérancote's party, Indomitable France, and became part of the New Ecologic and Social People's Union, a left-wing coalition that sought to curb the president's power in parliament. If elected to the National Assembly, Rachel will be able to support a key item on the coalition's platform: raising France's monthly minimum wage from €1,300 to €1,500.
Rachel's opponent is Roquesana Marasinianou, a 47-year-old former swimming world champion and former French minister of sport.
▎ Roxana was born in Romania in 1975, came to France with her family in 1984, and became a French citizen at the age of 16. She was the first world champion in the history of Swimming in France and won a silver medal at the 2000 Sydney Olympics photo source/Le Parisien
When talking about her status as a world champion before running for parliament, Roxana's answer seems to be trying to close the distance between herself and the people. "I will not attend the National Assembly as a world champion, nor will Rachel Keck participate as a cleaner," she said. "You go to the National Assembly as a member of parliament, and the personal trajectory before that is certainly interesting and worth talking about, but... The elections themselves are a political agenda. ”
However, what Roxana called "the personal trajectory before" was precisely Rachel's knock on the door of the National Assembly. "I'll beat her. She doesn't live here. She's not from the suburban working class," Rachel said confidently to reporters as she campaigned in the Chevery Laru district, a suburb of the capital.
Rachel speaks among workers Photo source/Up Exam Paper
In the first round of the campaign, Rachel ranked first in the constituency with more than 37% of the vote, while Roxana received less than 24% of the vote. The first round of elections gave a big boost to Syriza, putting it on a par with Macron's Forward and Centrum coalitions at the national level. In the second round of elections, Rachel eventually defeated Roxana to become a member of the National Assembly, which further consolidated the position of Syriza in the National Assembly.
"I'm going to make Parliament tremble!"
Ibrahim, 73, is Rachel's neighbor and a retired school cafeteria cook. Ibrahim described Rachel as "a very nice person who can talk to everyone. I only hope she won't be used by politicians, but she's very smart and would have foreseen that. ”
Ibrahim's brother-in-law, Jamil, attended primary school in Morocco, Mérancoon's birthplace. Jamil said he wasn't sure he agreed with Mélangham's strong personality of "acting as a spotlight" in left-wing politics and doubted whether the left-wing coalition would split after the election.
Jamil pasted Keke's campaign poster on the window of the butcher shop he ran. "There is a person in Parliament who can understand the daily concerns of workers in difficult jobs and that would be an exception," he said. He went on to add: "This should not be the exception, it should be the norm." ”
Rachel Keck's campaign poster image source/World Today News
Rachel's running mate, Marie Brent, likened constituencies in five small towns southeast of Paris to "America's swing states." During the right-wing Sarkozy presidency of France, the five-town constituency voted for a right-wing mp; Under the leadership of the socialist Hollande, it voted for left-wing parliamentarians; During Macron's first term, it voted for a centrist candidate. Leclerc Brent, deputy mayor of the Greens in the town of Fresnes, one of the five towns, has been a member of the Left Alliance for the past two years. Brent said: "Now this left-wing coalition has a huge, new, national momentum, and in fact this is a continuation of the way towns like ours operate." ”
Yassin Rajic, an engineer and opposition lawmaker, ran as Roxana, Rachel's rival mentioned above. Macron needs a majority, he said, "first of all to address the troubled cost of living crisis, but also to promote full employment and defend Republican values." But the final vote on June 19 was cast over a record low in turnout, with more than 70 percent of 25- to 34-year-olds in the first round of voting not voting. Bintou, 27, at a estate in Chevylarue, said she was busy working as a clinic manager and raising her four-year-old, "I just don't think voting will change anything." ”
But the election of the "grounded" Rachel may cause Bintou to pay more attention to politics.
"We know the level of the maid, I know I don't have a Bac+5 (one of the French diplomas, representing master's level)", "If someone asks me some questions that I don't understand, I won't answer, the media have to get used to that." Rachel said bluntly.
The self-proclaimed "feminist" and "defender of the yellow vests" avoided possible attacks on her lack of full academic training. She warned: "If you speak to me in Sciences Po in French, I will answer you in the suburbs!" Image source/ Time News
"We're not rebels, we just want our dignity." Rachel said in the crowd that came to support her. The voices carried a message: "The National Assembly will tremble!" ”
Rachel released a social platform caption on the 20th: "The National Assembly will tremble!" Image source/Twitter
Left-wing revival, a great change is being nurtured?
Today, the rift in French politics is further exacerbating.
The French elections on June 19 made Syriza the largest opposition party in France. The French media called it a rare success for the French left camp in recent years. The far-right party led by Marina Le Pen also broke the record for the National Assembly seats with 89 seats in this election.
The breakthroughs made by the parties on the left and right reflect the eclipse of the centrist alliance represented by Macron. According to the French Interior Ministry, in this legislative election, Macron's camp won only 245 of the 577 seats, 44 seats away from the absolute majority (298 seats). This figure is seen as "Macron's great rout".
The parliamentary seats won by the Centrum alliance are said to be the "smallest majority" achieved by the ruling party since de Gaulle established the Fifth Republic in 1958.
According to Reuters, Syriza plans to launch a vote of no confidence in Macron's government on July 5.
Rachel and Melanthorn photo Infographic
We don't know what will happen next in France's political playbook. But the political impasse in France may be enough to sound the alarm bell for Europe. The "entry of low-class civilians into the National Assembly" represented by Rachel Keck more or less reflects the anger of the French people against the political elite. The effects of a series of events, such as inflation, declining purchasing power, and the Russo-Ukrainian War, played a role in the daily lives of the people, making the French people no longer patient with the Macron government. As Rachel put it, "We are people who live in poor areas and do critical work." We are despised and exploited people. So let's defend ourselves in Parliament. The National Assembly will tremble! ”
A great change may be in the process of being nurtured.
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