After 57 years in charge: Paul Bérenger slams the door of the MMM

After 50 years of activism, Paul Bérenger leaves the MMM for the opposition. This historic divorce with his own party marks a brutal turning point in the career of the 81-year-old leader.

At 81, Paul Bérenger is undoubtedly going through the most brutal and unexpected crisis of a political career that began more than half a century ago. The one who is among the founders of the Mauritian Militant Movement (MMM) officially resigned, Monday at midday, from the position of leader as well as from the party, after leaving his position as Deputy Prime Minister on March 20. This divorce marks a spectacular turning point in the history of the MMM and leaves the party deeply divided.

Born March 26, 1945 in Curepipe, Paul Bérenger completed his secondary studies at the Collège du Saint-Esprit, in Quatre-Bornes. He then pursued, among other things, higher studies in philosophy and French at the University of Bangor, in Wales.

Returning to Mauritius in 1969, he committed himself body and soul to trade unionism. Negotiator for several unions – he was even at the basis of the creation of the General Workers’ Federation (GWF) – he took part in the major strikes of 1971, including that of the transporters and the general strike of December. His militant activities led to his arrest and imprisonment for a year in 1972.

At the same time, that same year 1969, he became interested in the Student Militant Club, formed in 1968 by a group of young people, some of whom were at the Royal College of Curepipe, including Amédée Darga, Sushil Kushiram and Robin Panchoo, later joined by Venoo Moothien and Krithiti Goburdhun, among others. They invite young academics – Paul Bérenger, Dev Virahsawmy and Jooneed Jeerooburkhan – to lead talks. The latter then join them to create the MMM.

Already secretary general of the party when the MMM participated in the by-election of September 5, 1970, he initiated a democratic socialist movement, fiercely anti-communalist and in favor of bold structural reforms, notably the nationalization of the sugar industry.

Elected deputy for the first time in December 1976 in constituency no. 18 (Belle-Rose/Quatre-Bornes), Paul Bérenger saw the MMM win 34 seats out of 70, placing Parliament in a deadlock situation. In 1982, the MMM-PSM alliance won the 60 directly elected seats; he became Minister of Finance in the government of Sir Anerood Jugnauth, before the split of 1983 which saw SAJ create the Militant Socialist Movement (MSM).

From 1983 to 1987, designated “Best Loser”, he was leader of the opposition. Defeated in 1987, he did not sit in Parliament, and Prem Nababsing then assumed this role for the MMM. Paul Bérenger will return to this position in 1997.

His career was then punctuated by successive alliances: Minister of Foreign Affairs from 1991 to 1993, then Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs under Navin Ramgoolam from 1995 to 1997. In 2000,