“I’m not going. I consider that the conditions of my application were not met for this partial“, she declared Friday to AFP, nevertheless believing that “the person does not matter and (that) everything must be done so that the left wins this constituency again” straddling Grenoble and part of its northern suburbs, where La France insoumise planned to support it.
“What was proposed to me did not allow me, in my opinion, to continue to act as a link for the left,” explained the 37-year-old senior civil servant, who did not wish to sit within the LFI group at the Assembly.
Jean-Luc Mélenchon’s party, on the contrary, made it a non-negotiable condition for granting him the nomination and running for the seat left vacant by the resignation of Hugo Prévost.
The young 25-year-old rebel, who took the place of former Macronist minister Olivier Véran in July, handed over his mandate last week after accusations of “serious acts of a sexual nature” committed in particular when he headed the Union union. student, close to LFI.
His departure has started the countdown to the by-election, which must be held within three months, and the negotiations within the parties. Starting with LFI, which had obtained this constituency as part of the founding agreement of the NFP just after the dissolution of the National Assembly on June 9 by President Emmanuel Macron.
She didn’t want to sit with the rebels
The Lucie Castets option was quickly put forward: “It’s part of the scenarios,” the coordinator of the radical left party, Manuel Bompard, admitted on Monday.
The person concerned immediately said she was “ready to help but not under any conditions”, in particular that of joining “the group most representative of the diversity and unity of the left”. Understand the environmental group, where there are, in addition to the Greens, members of Génération.s and former rebels Insoumis, such as the Somme deputy François Ruffin.
“She’s the only one who can win the constituency,” even boasted an executive from the Ecologist party, for whom “the added value of Lucie Castets is not being LFI.” An advantage in this territory encompassing Grenoble and more affluent suburbs, historically anchored to the right until 2007.
A guarantee also in the face of the risk of local division. As of Thursday evening, the Isère federation of the Socialist Party had designated its departmental advisor Amandine Germain as candidate for the nomination of the United Left, defending its “legitimacy to put forward a rallying candidacy”. While leaving a door open for Lucie Castets “in the event that (she) should ultimately be the representative of all the components of the NFP”. Which will therefore not happen.
Lucie Castets emerged from anonymity on July 23 when the left-wing parties, who came first in the early legislative elections, made her their candidate for the post of Prime Minister. The candidacy was rejected by Emmanuel Macron but this Norman, specialized in the defense of public services, subsequently gave up her position as Director of Finance for the City of Paris to persevere in politics. A desire that an election at the Palais Bourbon could have consolidated.
(With AFP)
