Leave X or stay there ?: Delafosse, Doulain, Mignacca… who chose to leave the social network, ex-Twitter in Montpellier ?

Un transfert vers Bluesky proposé comme alternative à X. Midi Libre – JEAN-MICHEL MART

Le grand mouvement HelloQuitteX, initié à partir de ce lundi 20 janvier, ne convainc pas encore beaucoup sur Montpellier…

This Monday, January 20th, may mark a turning point in terms of communication via the internet. A call to leave the social network X, ex-Twitter, piloted by Elon Musk, was launched by the HelloQuitteX movement, which proposes to facilitate the process and hopes for a mass exodus.

A symbolic date as a starting point, marked by the inauguration of Donald Trump as President of the United States and which should allow “Elon Musk to no longer be worried by the justice system” according to the initiators of the collective, such as the Human Rights League, which describes the tool as a “danger for democracy”.

So should we leave the platform or not ? Should we take the plunge and switch to an alternative platform ? A question that many individuals, associations, institutions, etc. are asking themselves.

Pose the debate

To answer it, La Carmagnole is proposing a meeting this Monday, January 20 to discuss this subject and to have a more informed opinion on the issue.

“We had been wondering for a while what to do: by leaving, were we deserting or were we proposing another way to fight against the extreme right,” explains Boris Chenaud, a cooperator at La Carmagnole. “We signed up for this approach because it had to be collective.”

“If many follow, this will make alternative channels visible, we created two accounts to branch off.”

And to argue: “As it is not a network that allows debate but a propaganda tool to promote racism, homophobia, patriarchy… This platform is a means to make the reactionary ideas of Elon Musk and his supporters triumph.”

Simplify the process

To facilitate this departure and the migration to a Twitter alternative such as Bluesky or Mastodon, the HelloQuitteX collective has created an application, whose platform is hosted by the CNRS. In a few clicks, it's done for those who have decided to take the plunge.

What about politicians in Montpellier

In Montpellier, the transfer movement is not unanimous. On the side of the elected majority at the Montpellier city hall, Sébastien Cote, the deputy for security has already announced his position by posting a few days ago: “On January 20, do as I do: I am NOT leaving X.”

The City of Montpellier and Mayor Michaël Delafosse will not close their respective accounts. A choice to “continue to carry the debate on this platform, to continue to carry our ideas and defend them.“

Julia Mignacca, president of the Ecologists' parliament and spokesperson in Montpellier is not leaving the X network for the moment. “My party has not yet expressed itself. In the meantime, I will register on Bluesky. Personally, I denounce the violence of Twitter but I tell myself that we must not leave the space of this sphere of political and ideological combat.”

Those who leave, however, are not very numerous for the moment. On the LFI side, municipal councilor Alenka Doulain and activist Rhany Slimane have chosen to leave X and to clearly display it on social networks

While at the national level, the exodus is starting to take hold: public hospitals, unions, universities… But for the time being in Montpellier, few institutions, associations, unions have made this decision.

debate this Monday, January 20, at 7 p.m., La Carmagnole (10 rue de la Palissade) is organizing an evening entitled “Leave X”. The Committee has decided to join the Hello Quite-X initiative by deleting its account opened years ago on Twitter. I subscribe to read more