Before the meeting at the Elysée, the difficult strategy of unity on the left

Will Lucie Castets end up getting the keys to Matignon? The candidate of the New Popular Front (NFP) will meet Emmanuel Macron on Friday, August 23 at the Elysée, along with the leaders of left-wing parties and parliamentary groups. The President of the Republic will then receive the right, then the far right on Monday, before appointing a Prime Minister, he promised.

A few days before its big speech, the left-wing coalition, which came out on top in the early legislative elections, nevertheless appears divided once again. The cause: the proposal launched on Saturday by Jean-Luc Mélenchon and the leaders of La France insoumise (LFI) to initiate a procedure for the impeachment of the head of state if he did not appoint Lucie Castets to Matignon.

An ultimatum to the head of state, immediately rejected by the other forces of the NFP. “A few days before the meeting on the 23rd August, highlighting a divisive issue within the NFP is not smart,” estimates to franceinfo the deputy Alexis Corbière, former right-hand man of the leader of the rebellious, who left LFI during the legislative elections to join the group of ecologists in the Assembly. “Jean-Luc Mélenchon does not want to disappear from political life and wants to exist at all costs, even that of weakening the coalition”scolds a socialist baron, who points his “presidential agenda”.

For LFI, “The idea is to put pressure on Emmanuel Macron. Even if the impeachment procedure does not reach its conclusion, you spin this little music thereanalyzes Benjamin Morel, political scientist and lecturer at the University of Paris 2. The other target is LFI’s partners on the left. The rebels are asking them to choose: either accept their hard line or flee to the center.“

“If tomorrow, Lucie Castets is not at Matignon, LFI will be able to say that it is the fault of those who may have betrayed. And that they cannot embody the left in 2027.”

Benjamin Morel, political scientist

to franceinfo

In response to the rebellious proposal, the right wing of the Socialist Party, which has long denounced the alliance with the Mélenchonist party, has called in recent days for a national office to be held. The aim: to address once again the position of the party with the rose vis-à-vis its ally, and to refine the discourse to be given to Emmanuel Macron.

In order to bring the nuances to life within the alliance, The head of the PS senators thus confides having “expressly requested that the first political force to speak out after Lucie Castets be the first political force within the NFP, therefore the Socialist Party.” To arrive at this observation, Patrick Kanner counts both the socialist representatives in the Assembly (66), but also those in the Senate (64), where LFI has no representatives. L’Former PS MP for Bouches-du-Rhône Patrick Mennucci even believes, in The Worldthat he is now “impossible (…) to go see the head of state” with LFI.

Officially, however, most socialists prefer to continue to play the unity score. “The solution of coming together allows Lucie Castets to be involved in this meeting, even if, personally, I would have preferred that the president meet the political parties one by one,” says Patrick Kanner. “The challenge of the 23rd is to bring about unity. We are not going to change strategy on the eve of the meeting with the President of the Republic.”also sums up the socialist deputy Arthur Delaporte.

“The problem is Emmanuel Macron, also recalls Sébastien Peytavie, deputy of the environmentalist group. The more time passes, the more he wants to keep control, and we end up with someone who does not want to recognize that he has lost.” “The president seeks to make his market within the NFP, to divide, to compose majorities so that his policy is applied”adds Alexis Corbière.

Having won first place in the legislative elections, but weakened by their (very) relative majority, the left-wing parties will therefore plead their case together. But their task looks set to be difficult. “They have no other arguments [pour que Lucie Castets soit nommée à Matignon] than having come firstpoints out political scientist Benjamin Morel. I am happy to make a comparison with previous cohabitations, but: in 1997, Lionel Jospin had some 300 deputies; in 1993, Edouard Balladur had more than 400; and in 1986, Jacques Chirac had nearly 290 deputies.”

With only 193 elected representatives, the left is far from the threshold of an absolute majority (289) to govern without risking a motion of censure. Its candidate, Lucie Castets, is therefore multiplying her outstretched hands to rally support and avoid the censure already promised by Macronist and RN elected representatives. In mid-August, in a letter to deputies and senators, she presented her “five major priorities”, including purchasing power, ecological transition and health. It has also committed to A “change of practice” within Parliament, promising elected officials a “gain of space” facing the executive.

The NFP program is “our working basis but it was built for the exercise of power in the event of an absolute majority”she also recalled in an interview with Parisian.

“We cannot say today: ‘This will be what we propose and only in our terms’. We will have to take steps towards others, but on the basis of our proposals.”

Lucie Castets, left-wing candidate for Prime Minister

to the “Parisian”

“We need to go and see the Macronists, we have things to propose together on bills that were the subject of consensus before the dissolution, such as the end of life, rail transport, health issues or old age, the question of single-parent families…”adds the socialist Arthur Delaporte. “If Lucie Castets is appointed, we will see what the main points will be within the Assembly, and what points we can make move forwardalso assures Alexis Corbière. Will the RN say that it wants to maintain the pension reform or not increase the minimum wage?

The strategy of “circumstantial majorities” is however far from convincing the whole of the left. “The NFP cannot claim to govern alone with a relative majority for two years, we would be in permanent reprieve”says socialist senator Hussein Bourgi.

Especially since the alliance is, once again, divided on the extent of the compromises to be made. A part of La France Insoumise thus intends to apply “the program, nothing but the program and the whole program.” So how can we build consensus with the rest of the parliamentary groups? “RNothing forces Lucie Castets to say yes to everyone [à gauche]. It must exist politically by itself.”pleads Patrick Kanner, who hopes to escape the “pressures” rebels.

To avoid instability, the solution could be the construction of a more durable majority… and one shifted towards the centre-right. “SIf the left absolutely wants to govern, then She must agree to build a coalition much broader than the NFPsays Hussein Bourgi. This means joining forces with Liot, Ensemble, Horizons, MoDem. And taking responsibility for it.” Even if it means losing the support of the rebels and finding a new Prime Minister who is more consensual in the centre.

In recent weeks, the names of former socialist Prime Minister Bernard Cazeneuve and the PS mayor of Saint-Ouen (Seine-Saint-Denis), Karim Bouamrane, have been circulating, pushed by the presidential camp. An unthinkable casting for a large part of the elected representatives of the left. “Bernard Cazeneuve was against Nupes, he is against the NFP… We will not support a government of Macronian schemes and choices”says the new environmentalist Alexis Corbière.

In short, the meeting organized on Friday by Emmanuel Macron is “a game of dupes”where everyone will play their part, summarizes Benjamin Morel. On the left, that of unity, even fragile, in the hope of accessing power, or of showing that we will have tried everything. At the Elysée, that of playing for time “to keep control” and, at the same time, “move forward by consulting so as not to appear as the blocking element”. With one certainty, according to the political scientist: “The meeting on the 23rd will not unblock the situation.”