Will the People’s Primary have a 2022 presidential candidate? For the moment, the idea of a single candidate on the left does not win full support from the parties concerned, even if Anne Hidalgo has relaunched the debate of a union, Wednesday on TF1. The socialist candidate, who is holding a meeting Sunday, December 12 in Perpignan (Pyrénées-Orientales), proposed the organization of a primary on the left for the presidential election. An attempt to “give hope to the people of the left”, she explained. But this proposal to put his candidacy into play was immediately rejected by Yannick Jadot (EELV), Jean-Luc Mélenchon (LFI) and Fabien Roussel (PCF).
The next day, Anne Hidalgo then declared that she wanted to participate in the Popular Primary and to accept the verdict. “I will do everything to win it. Today, around 250,000 people are registered for the popular primary, we will support it to expand it”, she assured on LCI.
Franceinfo tells you everything about this citizens’ initiative.
1How does this Popular Primary work?
This initiative was launched in July by environmental activists, feminists, social entrepreneurs and left-wing supporters. At the head of the movement, Mathilde Imer and Samuel Grzybowski. The first is one of the disappointed initiators of the Citizen’s Climate Convention (CCC), the second created the popular education association Coexister. He has been working for years in the social and solidarity economy sector. For almost six months, they have been mobilizing to convince as many citizens as possible to join them. Meetings are organized all over France, such as in Marseille or in the Doubs.
The supporters of this primary hope to unite all the candidates of the left behind a single presidential candidacy. From July to October, 130,000 people chose the ten candidates who could participate in the primary, including Anne Hidalgo, Jean-Luc Mélenchon, Yannick Jadot or members of civil society. But some, like Christiane Taubira or François Ruffin, quickly declined. The final list will be finalized on January 15, specifies the site of the Popular Primary. The vote is scheduled for January 27-30.
2What ideas will the candidate defend?
The collective has developed a “common ground” composed of ten key measures so that “social justice, ecology and democracy triumph in 2022”, relates the site of the movement. These ten proposals, which will have to be brought by the elected candidate, are inspired by the demands of civil society and social movements in recent years, the Citizen’s Convention for the climate or part of the “yellow vests”. They demand, for example, the implementation of a “true” climate law, a solidarity income accessible from 18 years old, a four-day week or the recognition of the blank vote.
Those “ten disruptive measures, these are ten emergency laws that can put ecology and the social at the heart of society, affirmed Samuel Grzybowski on franceinfo, December 9. This are measures that can really enable us to respond to climate change, to the social crisis, to those students who stand in line, to the democratic crisis “, he defended.
3How many participants have registered?
Its organizers expected between 300,000 and 400,000 registered by the end of the process. As of December 11, approximately 266,000 people are supporting People’s Primary. “Never has a primary had 250,000 pre-registered!” exclaimed Samuel Grzybowski on franceinfo on December 9. Since Anne Hidalgo chose “to accompany “ the primary, the organizers are now targeting a million people mobilized to nominate the candidate at the end of January.
4Why do some presidential candidates not want to participate?
For the moment, the Communists, the ecologists and the “rebellious” refused to participate in this primary. They insist on their fundamental differences which, according to them, make a single candidacy impossible. But Anne Hidalgo’s team, which has failed to convince of the need for a left-wing primary, hopes to rally the other candidates to the process. According to Release (article reserved for subscribers), the departmental officials of the PS will “send a letter to their counterparts from all parties (LFI / EELV / PCF / PRG / Place publique…) asking them to take an official position on the organization of the primary”.