LFI’s position, after last Saturday’s attack by Hamas against Israel, arouses strong criticism. The maintenance of the PS in the Nupes is questioned by certain socialists. “I see that there are people ever more willing to take care of internal affairs […] before taking care of the essentials”, replies Olivier Faure.
Guest of franceinfo Tuesday October 10, Olivier Faure, the first secretary of the Socialist Party, stressed that Jean-Luc Mélenchon was not speaking in the name of Nupes, regarding the Hamas attack against Israel. “The Nupes are four groups. Today, communists, ecologists and socialists speak with the same voice”insisted the PS deputy for Seine-et-Marne.
>> Hamas attack against Israel: the position of La France insoumise creates controversy, Elisabeth Borne denounces “revolting ambiguities”
Anne Hidalgo, the mayor of Paris, believes that by refusing to break with this union, the PS is moving from political contradiction to moral error. It implicates Olivier Faure and his “lack of courage”. Carole Delga, the president of the Occitanie region, also called for a meeting of the PS authorities so that the party leaves the Nupes. From Sunday October 8, the socialist deputy Jérôme Guedj, although for a time close to the former leader of La France insoumise, questioned the maintenance of the PS in this union of the left.
Reaction from Olivier Faure: “I see that there are people who are always quicker to deal with internal affairs and with petty political ulterior motives before taking care of the essentials. The essential thing is still this conflict”, he replied. However, the reiterated refusal of the Insoumis to name Hamas as a terrorist movement “is not uncomfortable but unbearable” for the boss of the socialists. Olivier Faure once again attacked Mathilde Panot’s attitude on Tuesday evening, October 10, as he did in the afternoon at the National Assembly.
“What I cannot accept is the idea that even today, the president of the Insoumis group cannot qualify Hamas for what it is, a terrorist group”
Olivier Faure, first secretary of the PSat franceinfo
“[Mathilde Panot] talks about war crimes. [Mais] when we talk about war crimes, we are talking about a regular army which commits abuses outside of international treaties. In this case, it is not a regular army. There is no Palestinian army embodied by Hamas. We have a terrorist organization which (…) does not seek peace.”.
In the National Assembly, to mark their refusal to endorse the position of the Insoumis, the socialist deputies decided on Tuesday October 10 to suspend their participation in the development of a counter-budget to the 2024 finance bill. joint work between PS regional advisors and the Insoumis.
Total siege of Gaza prohibited by international law: UN
As for support for Israel, Olivier Faure believes that it cannot be unconditional. “In fact, there is one condition, it is respect for international law. Who could accept that a democracy frees itself from international law and finally gives weapons tomorrow to all those who will argue against Israel? I refuses to let Hamas pull the chestnuts out of the fire”.
The first secretary of the PS was referring to the total blockade of the Gaza Strip decided by the Netanyahu government. However, this measure is contrary to international law, recalled the UN, through its High Commissioner for Human Rights.