A former President comes out of the woods. It is not Nicolas Sarkozy, from whom Valérie Pécresse continues to hope for a sign of support, for the moment in vain. It is therefore François Hollande who decides to wet the jersey for the PS candidate by making a common platform with her. And not just anywhere: it’s in Limoges, which was for a very long time, for more than a century, a socialist stronghold. In the heart of Limousin, a stone’s throw from this department of Corrèze which is the chosen land of the former head of state.
So far, François Hollande has been very discreet in this campaign. He only appeared once, in the fall, alongside the mayor of Paris. It must be said that many have lent him the intention of replacing it in the event that Anne Hidalgo would have withdrawn. This buried hypothesis, if François Hollande risks a meeting, it is to show loyalty vis-à-vis the candidate of course. But it’s also because beyond the election, he cares about the survival of the Socialist Party, which he led for 11 years…
Is the Socialist Party in mortal danger?
Clearly: the danger is there. Anne Hidalgo is estimated around 3% of voting intentions in the polls; it is twice less than the “shipwreck” of Benoît Hamon, 5 years ago. Below 5% of the votes, the PS, which is already in very bad shape financially, would not be reimbursed for its campaign expenses by the State. And it is the party, refounded a little over half a century ago by François Mitterrand at the Epinay congress, which would run the risk of being shut down. Basically, it is not only the political survival of the PS, which encourages François Hollande to speak, it is that of the reformist left as a whole.
And after the presidential election?
The former president is convinced that if it is the radical left embodied by Jean-Luc Mélenchon which affirms its leadership over the entire left, the latter risks breaking with the culture of government on the one hand, and on the other hand with its historic commitment to Europe. For François Hollande, this left is a left of indignation, of incantation. But she can’t win. Her excesses condemn her to being permanently removed from power. Beyond the helping hand to candidate Anne Hidalgo, it is therefore also to twist the idea of a “useful vote” in favor of Jean-Luc Mélenchon that François Hollande breaks the silence.