The French branch of WPM (World Poets Movement, in French) was formed from the association Le Merle moqueur, re-launched in 2019 around Sophie Geoffroy-Dechaume, Francis Combes, Patricia Latour and Alexis Bernaut, among others. The group has expanded over time with the arrival of new members, poets and musicians. Le Merle moqueur – WPM France aims at promoting an open, militant and citizen poetry, in France and from and to the whole world with, as often as possible, the intervention of musicians.

Le Merle moqueur – WPM France works since, occasionally, with two other associations: José Muchnik’s La crue poétique and Philippe Tancelin’s Effractions poétiques.

Among other past actions, Le Merle moqueur – WPM France took part in the actions proposed by the WPM, namely

 – A world without walls

 – A red carnation

– Support for the people of Colombia and Palestine (readings in partnership with La crue poétique in June 2021)

– The Earth is our home

 – Launch of a global poetry channel on Facebook against the war in Ukraine, with the participation of poets from all over the world, including Ukraine and Russia

– Launching and signing, still from the framework of the war in Ukraine, of a petition defending a multipolar, pacifist and reasonable point of view, whose point of view is now more and more unanimously shared

 – Events and readings at the Cité internationale (Cité universitaire de Paris, Salon de l’Autre Livre, Beaubourg media library, city of La Courneuve)

Solidarity actions were also organized in favor of the liberation of the Palestinian poet Ashraf Fayad (effectively freed after an intervention of WPM France with President Macron), towards Iranian poets, Russian poets and Kurdish poets (the imprisoned Kurdish poet Ilhan Sami Çomak) and the anthology of Maram Al-Masri with 45 poets including Sara Aktas (aged 47 with 18 years spent in prison)

Le Merle moqueur – WPM France, backed by the publishing house Manifeste! founded on the occasion of the 150th anniversary of the Paris Commune and directed by Victor Blanc, has also published an anthology of poems by Jack Hirschman, entitled Planétariat, salut! (translations by Gilles B. Vachon, Francis Combes and Alexis Bernaut) and Un Printemps assiégé by Ataol Behramoglu.

Finally, in connection with the city of La Courneuve, north of Paris, whose inhabitants come from all over the world, WPM France has selected, translated and printed posters of poems by poets from all over the world to be displayed in La Courneuve, for the population. This action is part of the “People-World” (in the wake of Jack Hirschman’s vision). Other actions are to come.