these political coalitions that work in local communities

At the national level, political forces are still unable to agree on building a majority to govern the country, while in some departmental or municipal councils these coalitions already exist. Overview.

Movement but still no new government. Gabriel Attal handed in his resignation on Tuesday, July 16, which was this time accepted, while on the left, discussions have resumed to find the name of a Prime Minister. The New Popular Front is struggling to reach an agreement at the national level while in local communities, alliances already exist and seem to be working.

For example, during the last departmental elections in a region of the Grand Est that was won over to the right, the left retained Meurthe-et-Moselle with a majority with multiple sensitivities. “I had the New Popular Front from 2021explains Chaynesse Khirouni, the PS president of the departmental council. So I have PS, Ecolo, PC and LFI, Citizen Citizen.”

A local alliance of the left, 30 seats out of 46, which united in the first round of elections on a program defined in advance. “In our Grand-Est region and in our department, we have a very strong push from the National Rallysays Chaynesse Khirouni. If we wanted to keep this department on the left, our only strategy was to run a single joint candidacy in the first round.”

These strategies exist elsewhere. The Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur region has a right-wing majority, from La République en Marche to the Republicans and the UDI. There is also a union of the right and the centre in town halls, such as Le Blanc-Mesnil and Drancy in Seine-Saint-Denis, or Pessac in Gironde.

There are also alliances between the centre and the left, as in Annecy, where the Green mayor François Astorg was narrowly elected in the last municipal elections thanks to an alliance with a dissident Macronist list.If there are differences in daily life, we can overcome them.says François Astorg, because we have a working method that allows us to set up spaces for listening and discussion in order to achieve the completion of a project.”

“For example, the budget vote was a difficult exercise, but we built with seminars and in the end, we arrived with a budget that was voted on.”

François Astorg, Green Mayor of Annecy

to franceinfo

François Astorg also explains that concrete local projects make it possible to overcome divisions: “When you talk about setting up pedestrianization in a large area, or planting greenery in schoolyards, there is no ideology behind it. It is just a question of daily quality of life for residents and we almost all agree to lead the transition.” The mayor of Annecy would like to see these coalitions at the national level but in France, according to him, there is not yet this culture of political coalition. “It is clear that the Fifth Republic is not made for this type of coalition”believes François Astorg.

What has been happening since the legislative elections shows the difficulties in reaching an agreement and, worse, in reaching an understanding. The dissensions and invectives within the new Popular Front deeply annoy Chaynesse Khirouni who, in Meurthe-et-Moselle, is pursuing a strategy of unity at all costs. “We discuss our differences or disagreements internally.explains the president of the Meurthe-et-Moselle department. On the other hand, we do not display these disagreements and divergences outside, neither in the press nor on social networks. And I believe that this respect is also the recipe for this union that holds.”

Voters put the New Popular Front in the lead and blocked the National Rally in the legislative elections, she added. “We on the left, in our diversity, must rise to the occasion”explains Chaynesse Khirouni and at the moment, according to her, this is not the case.