Alexis Delafontaine, with AFP / Photo credit: Amaury Cornu / Hans Lucas / Hans Lucas via AFP
Fifteen days after Jordan Bardella and a week after the Macronist majority, it is the turn on Saturday of the Insoumis and Manon Aubry to officially launch their campaign for the European elections, a vote which will be “the first round” of the 2027 presidential election, warned Jean-Luc Mélenchon. For this campaign launch meeting at the Villepinte exhibition center, in Seine-Saint-Denis, more than 3,000 activists are expected. After speeches by the party coordinator Manuel Bompard and the head of deputies Mathilde Panot, in particular, Jean-Luc Mélenchon and Manon Aubry will conclude this “Popular Union convention”. The opportunity surely to formalize the symbolic presence of the creator of LFI on the list, in penultimate place.
“This is not a European election, it is the first round of the 2027 presidential election. It is you who choose who you give a head start to,” launched Jean-Luc Mélenchon on Thursday evening in front of a crowd of students at the Nanterre faculty. “The President of the Republic intends to engage in this campaign and the National Rally says that it is a sort of mid-term election,” added Manuel Bompard on Saturday morning on franceinfo. “The post-Emmanuel Macron begins now,” he said.
The rebels know that their tribune’s score in the last presidential election – 22% – is unattainable. Traditionally, European elections are not their favorite election. The last time, in 2019, the list led by Manon Aubry, a neophyte at the time, finished with 6.31% of the votes. However, with a few thousand votes ahead of Raphaël Glucksmann who, this time, is a short head ahead of the Ecologists and the Rebels in the polls.
Nevertheless, Manon Aubry says she aims for first place on the left and a score of 10%, while in the various polls, her list is given around 7 or 8%. “Our challenge is not to convince people to vote for us, it is to convince the people who vote for us to vote,” recognizes Manuel Bompard. While the idea defended by LFI of a list common to the Europeans has collapsed – the Insoumis had even proposed the head to Marie Toussaint and the Ecologists – the four main left-wing lists are competing for a market share of around 30% .
“Humanitarian carnage”
La France insoumise unveiled its campaign slogan – “Give us the strength to change everything” – and its campaign poster on Friday. A somewhat Hollywood-style poster, with the large face of Manon Aubry, surrounded by her main running mates and rebellious figures, on a multi-colored background. “The inspiration is that of the great superhero films which unite to fight against evil (Avengers, Star Wars, Dune…)”, we explain from La France insoumise.
In addition to Jean-Luc Mélenchon, Mathilde Panot and Manuel Bompard, we find the first eight candidates on the list. Among them, the former coordinator of Génération.s Arash Saeidi, the MEP Damien Carême (ex-EELV) and the Franco-Palestinian activist Rima Hassan, a 31-year-old lawyer, who made controversial comments about Israel.
To mobilize its troops during the campaign, LFI intends in particular to emphasize the situation in Gaza – Manon Aubry made a point of mentioning “the ongoing humanitarian carnage” at the conclusion of the first European debate Thursday evening on Public Senate.
Saturday’s convention will also be an opportunity to finally formalize, after a symbolic vote by activists ending Friday, the nomination of Manon Aubry as head of the list. “When you return to the campaign, it must be seen. I promise a good demonstration of rebellious force, with a beautiful presentation of the list, and a few surprises,” indicated Manuel Bompard.
“This year we are leaving later than last time”, less than three months before the June 9 deadline, explains Manon Aubry. “This allows us to concentrate our energy and our resources on the end of the campaign,” she told AFP. Especially since voters traditionally make their choice very late for this European election, even until the last weekend, she assures.