There were several legislative elections this weekend. The most scrutinized was in Ariège. Its result revives the divisions on the left. Jean-Rémi Baudot’s political brief.
The first constituency of Ariège was the scene of a fratricidal duel on the left: a Nupes candidate against a socialist dissident. And it is the socialist, Martine Froger, who wins with more than 60% of the votes against the LFI Bénédicte Taurine. A score that highlights the tensions within the PS…
>> Partial legislative in Ariège: dissident socialist Martine Froger beats outgoing Bénédicte Taurine supported by Nupes
We are therefore still in the debate: for or against the Nupes? A question that has not been decided at the last socialist congress. We remember these endless negotiations between Olivier Faure, the 1er secretary and his challenger Nicolas Mayer-Rossignol, mayor of Rouen. But Sunday evening, the report is without appeal: the result is a stinging failure for Olivier Faure. The boss of the PS had asked the dissident socialist candidate to withdraw. He was not listened to. Within LFI, the hangover is visible. This Sunday evening, Jean-Luc Mélenchon himself denounced a “lamentable political trick“. It must be said that Martine Froger had notably received the support of the presidential majority to block Nupes in the second round.
Is there an alternative to the left under the Nupes flag?
This legislative in Ariège becomes the symbol of the war of the left. Martine Froger, the winner, gathered behind her all those who take pleasure in standing up to Olivier Faure. Anne Hidalgo, Bernard Cazeneuve, Nicolas Mayer-Rossignol who, when the results were announced, saw in this result the “validation of (its) strategic line“.
Without forgetting the other big winner of this election: the socialist president of the Occitanie region, Carole Delga. This Sunday, you should have heard him rejoicing at this crushing victory. Carole Delga who did everything to bring down the outgoing LFI candidate and who hammers: “I do not submit to France Insoumise“. To understand : “Unlike other socialists, I do not submit to Jean-Luc Melenchon“. The president of the Occitanie region wants to prove that there is an alternative on the left outside of Nupes. Obviously, she is thinking of the “after”, in 2027.
The next few hours are likely to shake on the left, especially since there is now a question: where will Martine Froger sit in the Assembly? Martine Froger asked to sit alongside the Socialists, but the PS did not answer her. And for good reason, she is still suspended from the party. How will react the other socialists who denounce the agreement with Nupes? This election in Ariège is likely to rekindle tensions, even to accelerate a possible explosion of the PS….