“If you think that I should not be Prime Minister, I will not be,” declared Sunday on France 3 the leader of the Insoumis Jean-Luc Mélenchon, specifying that “it is up to the political parties which constitute the coalition ” from the left to “make the right decision”. “People repeated for days and days that I was divisive. I was accused of everything and anything, of anti-Semitism, of this, of that (…). I will never be the problem, I will always be on the side of the solution,” said Jean-Luc Mélenchon.
Asked about the possibility of François Ruffin gaining access to Matignon in the event of a victory for the New Popular Front, the rebellious leader felt that “it is an answer that belongs entirely to him”. “I saw him say ‘I’m ready'”, he added, conciliating despite the very harsh words of François Ruffin after the sidelining of Jean-Luc Mélenchon’s former traveling companions, Raquel Garrido , Alexis Corbière and Danielle Simonnet. “A government is not a group of friends, it is not an arrangement between currents. It is about being able to withstand the shock of governing. It is the worst position, Matignon”, said again Jean-Luc Mélenchon.
Mélenchon satisfied with the support of François Hollande
He highlighted the wish of rebellious France to open up to figures from civil society, like the confederal leader of the CGT Céline Verzeletti, candidate in the constituency of Danielle Simonnet.
Asked about the support of the former President of the Republic François Hollande for the New Popular Front, and for his candidacy in Corrèze, Jean-Luc Mélenchon was satisfied. “Any reinforcement is welcome to beat the National Rally. And the fewer people there are outside who are in a critical and obviously always very personalized relationship – I am the general lightning rod for all problems – so much the better,” said -he said. “This is the life of democracy. The PS chooses who it wants. For my part, I apply the rule that I ask it to apply,” he continued, while the PS criticized the choices investiture of LFI.
“I throw the resentment into the river and I hope that he (François Hollande) does the same. And we are going to have complicated problems to resolve. Better to do it in an atmosphere where everyone contributes their intelligence rather than their resentment,” he said.
A totally different story for party coordinator Manuel Bompard, who judged François Hollande’s candidacy on BFMTV to be “incongruous and absolutely incoherent”.