The left forms a radical electoral alliance

Greens, socialists and communists rally behind left-wing radical Jean-Luc Mélenchon. They hope to join forces to challenge Macron for a majority in parliament. For this, socialists and greens sell a part of their souls.

Jean-Luc Mélenchon has gone from political outlaw to leader of the French left.

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The narrowly missed entry into the run-off election for the presidency was only ten days ago when Jean-Luc Mélenchon formulated his new political goal. In an interview with BFM television at the end of April, he asked the French to elect him prime minister in June’s parliamentary elections. That was not just a populist simplification: the head of government is not elected by the people, but appointed by the president – usually with regard to the majority in parliament. But it was a daring statement given the state of the left: the attempt to agree on a common candidate before the presidential election had failed miserably. Mélenchon’s appeal was therefore rather smiled at.

Nationalization and retirement at 60

The 70-year-old left-wing radical has not let this deter him. His movement continues to campaign with the slogan “Mélenchon Prime Minister”. And less than two weeks after Emmanuel Macron was re-elected, he seems closer to his goal than ever. Because he was able to convince the Greens, the Socialists and the Communists to join forces with his party La France insoumise to form a large left-wing electoral alliance.

This “Nouvelle union populaire écologique et sociale” (Nupes) will start with a joint program that will be presented in detail over the weekend. The communiqués of the individual parties already show the points on which Mélenchon was able to assert itself. It is already clear that the French left is taking a much more radical course with Nupes.

Among other things, the alliance is promoting lowering the retirement age to 60, raising the minimum wage to 1,400 euros and a (state) “autonomy income” for the under-25s. It also wants a series of nationalizations: of the energy companies EDF and Engie, for example, but also of motorways, airports and even several banks.

Mélenchon’s EU skepticism can also be found in the election program. So “disobedience to certain European guidelines” should be possible. That this disobedience should be limited to budgetary and economic issues and remain within the framework of the rule of law as the Greens emphasize in their press release, is a concession to the actually decidedly pro-European Greens and Socialists.

Unsurprisingly, the days and sometimes nights of negotiations have left collateral damage to the coalition. Even before the alliance was sealed, said the failed green one Presidential candidate and MEP Yannick Jadot, a left-wing alliance with Mélenchon as boss will not work. Among the socialists, the split is more obvious. The former François Hollande publicly rejected the alliance, and his former interior minister, Bernard Cazeneuve, left the party altogether.

The Socialists had to swallow a few toads, not only on programmatic points, but also on the distribution of constituencies. The aim of the alliance is to nominate a common candidate in each constituency. The Socialists, who currently make up the largest left-wing faction in the National Assembly, have to be satisfied with 70 candidatures – fewer than the Greens.

At the party congress of the Socialists on Thursday evening, a clear majority of 62 percent of the delegates voted for the alliance with Mélenchon, who, as a renegade, was considered an archenemy for years. But the discussions that preceded the vote also showed that there are serious doubts in the party that made European history with President François Mitterrand in the 1980s.

Party leader and negotiator Olivier Faure said a coalition is not submission. In addition, Mélenchon’s movement is not permanent, but only momentarily the dominant left force. But from now on it will be more difficult for socialists to present themselves as moderate and pro-European parties. The same goes for the Greens, who even have Europe in their name (Europe-Ecologie-Les Verts).

Macron also forges alliances

Faced with radicalization on the left, Macron’s La République en Marche movement did not hesitate to woo the disappointed Social Democrats. Party leader Stanislas Guérini referred in one radio interview on Friday on his own socialist past and said the doors to the socialists were wide open. Macron’s movement had previously announced that it was renaming itself Renaissance – because they wanted to develop the party further and create something new, as Guérini said in justification.

Renaissance has also formed electoral alliances. In addition to the long-standing coalition partner Modem, Horizons is also included. The party was founded a few months ago by former Prime Minister Edouard Philippe. With his coalition partners, Macron currently has an absolute majority in the National Assembly. The voters will decide on June 12th and 19th whether this will remain the case in the future.

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