The frustration among some PS executives is not just about the failures of these mergers, but also about how LFI has mistreated them for months, even years. They have endured insults and bullying. “They are big wheeler-dealers,” quipped Insoumis leader Jean-Luc Mélenchon at a rally in Seine-Saint-Denis before the first round of municipal elections. “They’re not going to cost us too much to buy for the second round. When they say, ‘No national agreement,’ it means ‘Do your own thing locally.'”
Emmanuel Grégoire, the mayor of Paris who defied the odds and spoke during the campaign of his “silent inner wound,” was right, which further irritates PS leader Boris Vallaud and deputy Jérôme Guedj. The mayor of Saint-Ouen, Karim Bouamrane, even called for Olivier Faure to resign. The PS national office met for six hours from Tuesday night to Wednesday morning in a coup-like atmosphere, but no vote was reached.
A similar situation is unfolding among the ecologists, where Marine Tondelier’s leadership is increasingly being challenged. She is being urged by some within her camp to distance herself more from LFI. “If we continue without changing anything, we will disappear,” warned deputy Jérémie Iordanoff in Le Point.
While Marine Tondelier dared to criticize Jean-Luc Mélenchon for “sabotaging this campaign,” the Insoumis leader swiftly hit back: “Her erratic orientation, insulting statements, questionable friendships, and 20-year permanent failure in Hénin-Beaumont against the RN had caught the attention of the Guinness Book of losers.”
The chaos within the socialists and ecologists plays into the hands of LFI. This appears to be part of Jean-Luc Mélenchon’s strategy to establish dominance against his left-wing competitors in preparation for the presidential election, as evidenced by the proposal from LFI coordinator Manuel Bompard approaching the second round. He called on left-wing parties to form an “anti-fascist front against the right and the far right.” However, in Strasbourg, outgoing Green mayor Jeanne Barseghian allied with LFI to defeat Socialist candidate Catherine Trautmann, who topped the first round. In Lille, the LFI candidate who came second in the first round reached out to the third-place candidate, an ecologist, to defeat the incumbent mayor, a Socialist.
Disrupted by LFI’s strategy, socialists and ecologists are moving ahead in disarray as the presidential election approaches. The left-wing primary excluding LFI, set for October 11 and criticized by some on the left including MEP Raphaël Glucksmann (Place publique), is increasingly under threat.
(Note: This article discusses internal struggles within French political parties and their implications for future elections)
