A few hours before the outcome at the PS National Council, the mayors have more or less expressed their opinions on the New Popular Ecologist and Social Union (Nupes). Who are the left-wing mayors who supported (or not) the union with Jean-Luc Mélenchon?
Parisian agreement or national convergence? A few hours before the vote in the national council of the PS, the socialist mayors of the big cities of France have sometimes made known their point of view on a union of the left with the rebellious, the ecologists and the communists. If some are in favor of this union, others join the opinion of the former president of the republic François Hollande. Many spoke out via Twitter. This is the case of the mayor of Marseille Benoît Payan. “My conviction is the union of all leftist and environmentalist forces,” he wrote, a tweet accompanied by an image of Jean Jaurès facing the crowd. The mayor of Lille, Martine Aubry, wrote a long press release in which she called on the party council to vote in favor of the proposed agreement. Other mayors made a joint statement. The mayor of Nantes Johanna Rolland, Olivier Bianchi from Clermont-Ferrand, Benoit Arrivé from Cherbourg, Mathieu Klein from Nancy, Nathalie Appéré from Rennes and Cédric Van Styvendael mayor of Villeurbanne all wrote that this agreement should be voted “with a view to gathering “. The PS mayor of Avignon, Cécile Helle, also sided with Olivier Faure. “We come from different formations and we do not ignore these differences but we also have a lot of convergences” declared the mayor to the Dauphiné Libéré.
Other much quieter mayors
For some elected officials, the union with Jean-Luc Mélenchon passes less easily. After being very critical of the candidate of the Popular Union during the presidential election, the hour of the rally remains a test. The mayor of Montpellier Michael Delafosse did not take a position, although he retweeted information concerning the opposition to this union by Carole Delga, president of Occitanie. The mayor of La Rochelle Jean-François Fountaine, Isabelle Assih from Quimper, François Cuillandre from Brest, Yann Galut from Bourges and the former minister and mayor of Dijon François Rebsamen were also careful not to issue a clear opinion on this attempt to ‘union. The only mayor of a big city to be clearly opposed to the union is Stéphane Le Foll in Le Mans. The mayor of Rouen Nicolas Mayer-Rossignol does not seem opposed to it. On France Bleu a few days ago, he considered it “normal” that the discussions “take time” because there are “extremely strong differences”. But this Thursday, Alexis Corbière’s critical tweet towards former Prime Minister Bernard Cazeneuve was not appreciated by the mayor of Rouen. “Can we have disagreements without insulting each other? asked the mayor, calling on Alexis Corbière to show “humility” and “elegance”. The mayor of Périgueux Delphine Labails is rather skeptical about this union, regretting in the regional press that no constituency in the Dordogne will see a candidate from the PS.
Sometimes discreet environmental mayors
They were the first to rally behind France Insoumise, the ecologists were supported by the EELV mayors. While many did not actually express their opinions on the so-called Nupes (New People’s Ecological and Social Union) agreement, others were enthusiastic. One of the first to call for an agreement was the mayor of Tours Emmanuel Denis. “I hope that at the national level, there will be a good agreement that will be sealed. We will try to facilitate this agreement by agreeing between us on the constituencies of Indre et Loire,” promised the mayor. A similar point of view for Anne Vignot the mayor of Besançon. “Favorable to the union of the left and ecology. NUPES opens new perspectives for the legislative elections,” she tweeted. The EELV mayor of Grenoble quickly supported this union. “What was not possible for many months now becomes our workspace to win in June. France cannot be left behind in transitions for social and environmental justice,” wrote Eric Piolle. On the other hand, certain ecological mayors such as the mayor of Lyon Gregory Doucet, that of Annecy François Astorg, that of Bordeaux Pierre Hurmic, that of Poitiers Léonore Moncond’huy and that of Strasbourg Jeanne Barseghian did not express their support.