After the commitment of the former Minister of Justice to participate in this citizens’ initiative, the environmentalist, rebellious and communist candidates again closed the door to possible participation.
Same attempt as Hidalgo, same result. After the announcement of Christiane Taubira this Sunday at the end of the morning on her desire to take part in the popular primary, “Last chance for a possible union of the left” according to her, the reactions of the other candidates were closely scrutinized. And they did not take long, the magic of television programming causing everyone to speak soon after on political shows.
Barely a few minutes after the declaration of the former Minister of Justice, favorite of this primary initiated by supporters of the left, the response of Yannick Jadot stings. “I came from a citizen primary, the primary of environmentalists”, recalls in the preamble the ecologist, in the program Political Questions on France Inter. “There are candidates who arrive without a plan, ninety days before the poll and it is not insulting their intelligence to say so; Christiane Taubira, for the moment, has only made a three-minute video ”, he continues. And to drive the point home, the EE-LV candidate even announces that he will present his ecological project on January 29, in the midst of the popular primary vote (scheduled for 27 to 30).
Jean-Luc Mélenchon is on the same wavelength. “It’s January 9th. There are candidates whose program will not be launched for a fortnight. Ideas take time to find their way ”, he quips on RTL. The leader of rebellious France regrets this obsession with unity on the left. “Those who say that it is useless to go to the presidential election because we are divided are sowing resignation. The union campaign is now an obstacle to mobilization ”, he points out.
As for the communist Fabien Roussel, he is not transcended either by this exit of the former Minister of Justice of François Hollande. “I am the only one on the left to bring up different and original proposals. Christiane Taubira chooses to be one more candidate. What matters is not the application, it’s the program! ” he reacts on France 3. And he also plans to present his program “At the end of January”.
Hidalgo, variable positioning
The expected ripple effect is therefore still not there. Anne Hidalgo, the Socialist Party candidate, has not yet reacted to Christiane Taubira’s comments. But the day before, she declared “Take note” refusals in the face of his proposal for a more classic primary, with “A fair debate, a fair vote”. After having gathered in Jarnac in front of the tomb of former President François Mitterrand, the Socialist admitted the failure “for the moment” of his proposal, pointing in particular to the refusal of his environmental rival. “This proposal has not yet been the subject of an agreement”, she regretted.
Then, this Sunday morning on CNews and Europe 1, the mayor of Paris was even spicy vis-à-vis Christiane Taubira. “If she is a candidate, she will go with I do not know which political force or which program or which project, but that does not detract from the fact that it will be one more candidacy and not one less. But I am a candidate ”, she hammered. A clear position, however quickly blurred by a following answer on the popular primary, about which she had nevertheless declared herself favorable. “On January 15th we will see who would like to participate or not.” See you on this date, on which will be published the list of personalities submitted to the vote of those registered, to find out if Hidalgo will be on the way out.
Later in the afternoon, Hidalgo put back some pressure via an interview with the Parisian, seeming to link his participation to that of the ecologist: “If Jadot agrees to go to primary and support the one who emerges as the winner, I will do it too. […] If Yannick Jadot does not go to this primary, it no longer makes sense ”.
In the meantime, the step forward of Christiane Taubira could well fracture the Socialist Party, confronted for many months with the lack of takeoff of the Hidalgo rocket. The PS president of the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region, Marie-Guite Dufay, has already announced this Sunday noon on social networks her support for the former candidate of the Left Radical Party in the 2002 presidential election. A first for a elected leader within the rose party.
Update : at 5:05 p.m., with the addition of Hidalgo’s statement on Jadot.