Two weeks before the first round of early legislative elections and having just been created, is the New Popular Front already in danger? Since Friday evening, the united left has been tearing itself apart after the ousting of five executives from La France insoumise, notably Raquel Garrido and Alexis Corbière. While the parties have until Sunday evening to submit their candidacies, will the alliance of socialists, ecologists, rebels and even communists hold?
According to political scientist Benjamin Morel, the union of the left should remain intact… at least for the day. “A union will hold at least until 6 p.m., the time for submitting candidacies. It must be understood that the program is secondary. What matters is a single candidacy in each constituency,” he recalls. .
But there could be surprises: former MP Alexis Corbière assures that he and his colleagues not invested in La France insoumise will show up despite everything. “By claiming to be part of the New Popular Front, without a doubt with the support of political groups who are shocked by this practice,” said the outgoing deputy for Seine-Saint-Denis. “This is why, after the shock, we must lead the fight because it is an ethical question. We cannot make people believe that we are going to create a better society if we tolerate that by email at 11 p.m., people who have been campaigning for years without any explanation are released. You don’t lead a large movement like a small principality.”
Mélenchon wants to establish his leadership
What is certain is that within the New Popular Front, Jean-Luc Mélenchon is trying to establish his leadership, as Benjamin Morel explains. “He wants to control two things: his organization, and that involves purging those who could tomorrow be, if not rivals, at least hairs to itch; and avoiding the rise of a rival potentially with a view to 2027” , analyzes the political scientist.
Jean-Luc Mélenchon has just done some of the cleaning at the LFI. But in the union of the left, other contenders for the title of leader emerge, such as Raphaël Glucksmann, with his good results in the European elections, or even the boss of the Communist Party, Fabien Roussel.