‘Win together or lose separately?’: French left calls for unity ahead of snap elections
Political disarray The leaders of France’s main leftwing parties, including firebrand three-time presidential candidate Jean-Luc Mélenchon, have called for unity in the run-up to snap legislative elections set for June 30 and July 7. However, discussions about an electoral coalition and a common platform may be difficult, especially with just three weeks of campaigning before the first round. In this file photo (from left to right) French Socialist Party first secretary Olivier Faure, EELV (Greens) national secretary Marine Tondelier, French Communist Party national secretary Fabien Roussel and France Unbowed MP François Ruffin applaud on stage during a meeting of the NUPES left-wing coalition on January 17, 2023. Advertising Read more Unifying after months of campaigning on their differences – that’s the challenge faced by the French left after President Emmanuel Macron’s surprise decision to dissolve the National Assembly following the shocking gains by the far right in Sunday’s European Parliament elections. Socialist Party leader Olivier Faure, Greens leader Marine Tondelier, French Communist Party (PCF) chief Fabien Roussel and La France insoumise (France Unbowed or LFI) lawmaker François Ruffin all called for unity on Sunday after projections showed that the far-right Rassemblement National (National Rally or RN), led by Marine Le Pen and Jordan Bardella, would win 31.5 percent of the vote. This was a 15-point margin over Macron’s centrist group and 16 points better than the third-place Socialists. Leftwing voters later gathered spontaneously at the Place de la République in Paris to protest the RN. The leaders’ calls for union were accompanied by messages addressed to LFI leader Mélénchon and his party. “We need a coalition that brings together people capable of agreeing in a democratic way. There will be no alignment with anyone,” said Faure. “A coalition is not a leader deciding for everyone else, it’s a permanent dialogue, a democratic and fraternal way of working.” Il faut une coalition à gauche qui permette de rassembler des gens capables de s’accorder de manière démocratique, dans un dialogue permanent et dans le respect de chaque identité politique. C’est indispensable pour battre l\'extrême-droite, créer un espoir et l’emporter en 2027. pic.twitter.com/XKnzrcmMf1 — Olivier Faure (@faureolivier) June 9, 2024 Mélenchon, a key figure on France’s left who wanted Sunday’s European elections to serve as
precursor to the 2027 presidential vote, appealed directly to voters at an impromptu meeting not far from Place de la République. “Everyone is capable of choosing the platform that enables popular unity,” Mélenchon said, while emphasising “the disastrous responsibility of all those who denied us the possibility of entering this battle united, so we could have challenged the National Rally for the lead”. The prospect of a united left recalls the New Ecological and Social Popular Union (NUPES) which emerged in the run-up to the last legislative elections in France in 2022. The Socialist Party, the PCF and the Greens had all agreed an accord with LFI, which included LFI policy proposals such as a €1,400 monthly minimum wage, a price freeze on basic necessities, a rollback of the retirement age to 60 and a shift in institutional power from the president to parliament. The parties also agreed to field a single NUPES candidate in each of France\'s 577 legislative districts. This strategy helped enable 151 NUPES candidates to win Assembly seats in a vote that saw RN candidates win 89. A new ‘Popular Front’? While the Socialists’ Faure, the PCF’s Roussel and LFI deputy Ruffin on Monday called for a “Popular Front”, a reference to the leftwing coalition that won elections in 1936, LFI coordinator Manuel Bompard said on Franceinfo that such an alliance must be based on the NUPES platform. With or without LFI and Mélenchon\'s participation, agreement on a common platform is far from assured, as the NUPES platform has fallen apart since it was established in 2022. On Monday afternoon, LFI deputy Mathilde Panot arrived for a meeting with Bompard, the Socialists’ Faure, and Greens leader Tondelier at the Greens’ headquarters in Paris Bompard called for the parties to work “towards unity and clarity” ahead of the snap vote on X. "Now the Union. Urgent, strong, clear", said Mélenchon, also on X. LFI deputy Eric Coquerel told Reuters on Monday that an agreement among leftwing parties would only be possible based on a “platform of rupture” including the rollback of the retirement age to 60, reform of the tax system and recognition of a Palestinian state. Rebels Other voices in LFI were heard on Sunday night. “Today, the issue is to have a bloc to face up to the worst thing that can happen to our country,” Ruffin said on Sunday. “I\'m calling on the leaders of the leftwing parties to unite now and stop the no
