Voters who wish to participate in the controversial popular Primary have until midnight, this Sunday, January 23, 2022, to register in order to decide between the candidates of the left for the presidential election of 2022.
There are therefore only a few hours left for those who wish to register for this initiative. This afternoon, the organizers had more than 400,000 registered. A number higher than those of the participants of the primaries of the Republicans (140,000 registered) and the Ecologists (122,000 registered).
The ballot for this popular left-wing primary will take place from Thursday January 27 to Sunday January 30, 2022. The vote will have to decide between seven candidates representing the left and ecology. The candidate of the French Communist Party (PCF), Fabien Roussel was however not chosen by the organizers and will not participate in the popular primary.
A controversial popular primary
The popular primary, dubbed in December 2021 by the candidate of the Socialist Party, Anne Hidalgo, is no longer supported by the latter who, like Jean-Luc Mélenchon (La France Insoumise) and Yannick Jadot (Europe Ecologie Les Verts ), refuses to recognize the results of this initiative in which they participate against their will.
Thus, only four candidates presented to the vote agree to comply with the results. The new candidate Christiane Taubira, who gathers 5% of the voting intentions, only a week after the announcement of her candidacy, as well as three other candidates of smaller scope, the MEP Pierre Larrouturou, Charlotte Marchandise and Anna Agueb-Porterie.
The organizers take on the pressure
If the three main candidates of the left refuse to endorse the future result of this popular primary, calls to do so have multiplied in recent days. A platform signed by a hundred personalities from the world of culture, including actress Juliette Binoche, called on Thursday for all left-wing parties to participate in the primary.
For their part, the organizers of the popular primary explained, in a column published in L’Obs, that they assumed the pressure put on the candidates of the left. “Yes, we want the victory of ecology and social justice. Yes, we wish your victory”, they write. Addressing the candidates who oppose the primary, they explain: “It is not for pleasure that we come to have to put pressure on you. Let’s be honest: if we hadn’t, would you have even for a moment paid attention to our call?