Elections in France: left-wing parties leave emergency meeting with a united front to combat the extreme right
Political parties in France are already in ferment after, with the victory of the extreme right in the European elections, Emmanuel Macron called legislative elections. This Monday, a popular front was announced that will bring together environmentalists, socialists, “rebels†from Unsubmissive France and communists, despite persistent differences. The newspaper âLe Mondeâ already writes that the race against time has begun.
Seven months after the implosion of the New Popular Ecological and Social Union, left-wing parties managed to lay the foundations in record time for the early elections of June 30th and July 7th. On Monday night, the four leaders of the main political parties – the ecologist Marine Tondelier, Olivier Faure (Socialist Party), the communist Fabien Roussel and Manuel Bompard (La France insoumise, LFI) – appeared side by side in front of the Greens’ headquarters in Paris to announce the “constitution of a new popular front”, bringing together “all humanist, trade union, associative and left-wing citizen forces”.
“The popular front is a commitment that goes far beyond ourselves,†said socialist Olivier Faure, at the end of the meeting. “We don’t have time to procrastinate,†Manon Aubry, from LFI, told journalists. “The objective is to be able to build the future, and, above all, to go and win.â€
As in the 2022 legislative elections, left-wing parties promise “a disruptive program”, without providing further details. For now, the left-wing parties are mainly in agreement to avoid the worst and to make the dissolution of the National Assembly an opportunity. They also aim to maintain the 151 deputies they have in the French parliament, points out the newspaper âLe Figaroâ. But differences between political forces still persist. “Everyone has their red lines,†assured Olivier Faure, this Tuesday morning.
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The National Regroupment obtained around 32% of the votes on Sunday, more than double the around 15% obtained by Renaissance (Renaissance, RE), Emmanuel Macron’s party. The Socialists, with 14%, were a small step behind the French President’s party. Currently, the Renaissance party has 169 deputies in the national assembly, and the National Regroupment (RN in its French acronym) has 88.
“These will be the most important parliamentary elections for France and for the French in the history of the Fifth Republic,†considered the Minister of Finance, Bruno Le Maire. “We must fight for France and the French. We have three weeks to campaign and convince the French.â€
Emmanuel Pellerin, deputy from the Renaissance party, admitted that, within that political force, “shock” still reigns, adding: “Everything points to the RN obtaining a relative or absolute majority. But this forces the French to think about the that is at stake.â€
The first round of legislative elections will take place on June 30, less than a month before the start of the Paris Olympic Games. The second round is scheduled for July 7th.
Bardella (leader of the National Regroupment), Le Pen (from the same party) and Le Pen’s niece Marion Maréchal – who topped the list of the far-right Reconquista party in the EU elections – “ met at the RN headquarters on Monday afternoon to discuss a possible electoral coalition.
Early Monday evening, Bardella said that Marechal had “a constructive approach in relation to the RN†and that he hopes to achieve the largest possible majority, saying he is willing to dialogue.
