The reactions of part of La France insoumise led to strong indignation from members of Nupes. Socialist deputies even question the survival of the alliance of left-wing parties.
“The question” to remain in the left-wing Nupes alliance “poses”, warned Jérôme Guedj, Sunday October 8, on Jewish Community Radio (RCJ). The PS deputy did not mask his anger after the reactions of the parliamentarians of La France insoumise, the day after the deadly Hamas attack against Israel. “It disgusts me to see and note that some (…) were immediately in a form of relativism, of being sent back to back, of absence of this minimum of compassion which makes up our common humanityhe detailed. It pisses me off, I have no other words.”
>> The Israeli army says it has regained “control” of localities attacked by Hamas. Follow our live
In the socialist’s sights: the speeches of several LFI leaders which seem to place Hamas and the Israeli government back to back. “All the violence unleashed against Israel and in Gaza proves only one thing: violence only produces and reproduces itself”estimated Jean-Luc Mélenchon on the social network. “The armed offensive by Palestinian forces led by Hamas comes in a context of intensification of the Israeli occupation policy in Gaza, the West Bank and East Jerusalem. We deplore the Israeli and Palestinian deaths”insists the LFI press release. Several rebellious deputies, like Louis Boyard And Daniele Obonogo even further by limiting themselves to denouncing “colonization and abuses in Palestine”. “Gaza has been an open-air prison for a long time, amid general indifference!”also reacted Ersilia Soudais, MP known for her pro-Palestinian positions.
“Hate attracts hatred, and some seem to discover that it is always civilians who pay the price of war.”
Ersilia Soudais, LFI deputyon the social network
How can we explain this lack of clear condemnation of Hamas’ actions? “LFI seeks to protect its Muslim electorate”, estimates political scientist Rémi Lefebvre. The tweets of the rebels have in any case led to numerous indignant reactions. “These positions will leave traces”said Olivier Faure, Monday, on France Inter. “We will have to discuss it again [entre partenaires de l’alliance de gauche Nupes]. There will be explanations to be had.”explains the first secretary of the PS.
The socialist slayers of the Nupes took the opportunity to attack this electoral alliance. “I solemnly repeat to my political family, the Socialist Party, that it is time to put an end to the misalliance with Jean-Luc Mélenchon which has nothing in common with it. Following Jean-Luc Mélenchon is a dead end”urged in a tweet the mayor of Paris, Anne Hidalgo.
The slow “agony” of Nupes
The words are just as harsh on the side of environmentalists. “The first reactions of LFI which do not condemn these barbaric terrorist acts are an immense, dangerous and irresponsible mistake”, observes an EELV deputy. In this context, the question of the survival of the Nupes, already on the table many times, arises with all the more force as certain defenders of the left coalition, like Jérôme Guedj, therefore have for first time put their departure in the balance. The PS group in the Ile-de-France region has already chosen to “temporarily suspend” its relations with the regional group LFI, several regional advisors announced to franceinfo. “We were shocked by the national expression of LFI. We are always for the union of the left, but at some point, we had to mark the occasion”, explains Jonathan Kienzlen, president of the PS group. A press release must be published at the end of the day. This is not yet the Nupes, the coalition built in the Assembly, but a first breach in the left alliance.
“I hope the Nupes doesn’t break out”worries an LFI executive, while an intergroup meeting is scheduled for Tuesday at 9 a.m., like every week. “Not sure that this [réunion] be very productive”, he nevertheless tries to reassure himself, believing that Olivier Faure will not take the risk of initiating the break over this controversy. The PS press release of October 8 does not mention the future of Nupes, even if it adopts a very clear position which contrasts with that of the rebels. “The policy of the Netanyahu government cannot be put forward to put into perspective the terrorist aggression which the Israeli population is today the target of. Nothing, ever, can justify terrorist acts”we can read.
“It is still too early to see what the explosions will be within the Nupesjudge Romain Mathieu, doctor in political science. This divergence is not a small matter, and there is a point where there will be one divergence too many, but is it this one?”
“It is very likely that we will never have a statement saying: ‘this is the end of Nupes’.”
Romain Mathieu, doctor in political scienceat franceinfo
“There is no real alternative option and left-wing opinion is very united. I believe in the scenario of slow agony [de la Nupes] and a death that no one will want to recognize”supports political scientist Rémi Lefebvre.
“We have to do better than Nupes”
Since then, the rebels have been watering their wine. Guest of France 2, Monday morning, Manuel Bompard, the coordinator of LFI, condemned the Hamas attack and spoke of “war crimes”. “Was it necessary to condemn the terrorist attack? Yes, and I did so immediately,” on Xsupports LFI deputy Rodrigo Arenas. “Is there the clumsiness of not having done it before? In any case, Manuel Bompard was very clear this morning. And the left as a whole remains for the UN resolution, with a two-state solution and the borders of 67.”
“The dividers will always find pretexts to divide and if the Nupes program came down to the Israeli-Palestinian question, it would be a little light.”
Rodrigo Arenas, LFI deputyat franceinfo
“I note a shift on the wing of those responsible for LFI who are belatedly aligning themselves with the first welcome reactions of François Ruffin or Clémentine Autain”, an EELV executive reassures himself. The communists also tried to publicly calm the debate. “The different approaches are legitimate and have not until now stifled the functioning of our intergroup. Divergences must be respected!” delivers the boss of PCF deputies, André Chassaigne. But under cover of anonymity, others are more offensive. “This is far, far from being the main point of divergencejudges a PCF senator. We must do better and differently than Nupes. Let’s spend less time burying Nupes and more time building something better and more engaging.”
The divisions of the left alliance can also be explained by the structure of the coalition. “No conflict resolution body to move towards ideological convergence has been foreseenexplains Romain Mathieu. Result : not all differences are resolved upstream and are exposed publicly. And then they put the pieces back together…”