“I know the values of the National Rally and their disgusting methods, and I have learned three things: never lower your head, never lower your eyes, never give up. […] So yes, we will fight, we will fight together and we will win. We are counting on you and you will see that you can count on us.”
Place de la République, this Sunday evening of hangover for the left, Marine Tondelier concludes her speech to a torrent of cheers. Almost a routine now for the secretary general of Europe Ecologie Les Verts (EELV). Almost all of her speeches have aroused the enthusiasm of left-wing voters during this express campaign for the legislative elections.
Lack of embodiment on the left
In the political sequence alone after the first round result, the 2024 political revelation has multiplied the masterclass speeches in the eyes of his base. First by clearly calling on France 2 for a republican front, opposing on this point Aurore Bergé (Renaissance). Then with this speech at Place de la République, and finally this morning again, on the verge of tears in the face of Bruno Le Maire’s “Neither Nor”. Anger, emotion, firmness and convictions, enough to impose himself in the media.
This busy schedule also illustrates the new weight taken on in three weeks. To the point of being the new figure chosen by the New Popular Front (NFP) to debate against Gabriel Attal and Jordan Bardella during the debate between the two rounds, after Jean-Luc Mélenchon and Manuel Bompard. There is no doubt that politics has a new star: “She exploded in this campaign, and that is good news for the left which lacks an incarnation apart from Jean-Luc Mélenchon, a much less consensual figure”, assures Christian Delporte, political historian who also sees Marine Tondelier as a sort of reverse portrait of the Insoumis.
Of unity and competence
“She plays unity to the full, without controversy and with realism. She is one of the few to say that the left will not have a majority anyway, whereas France Insoumise still pretends to believe it,” explains the specialist. Another major difference for the specialist is a total absence of personal ambition in favor of the common cause. Proof of this is having agreed to stay in Hénin-Beaumont, “where she knew she had no chance against Marine Le Pen.”
Rémi Lefebvre, professor of political science at the University of Lille-2 and researcher at the CNRS specializing in the left, adds to the praise: “He is a competent, diplomatic, calm personality who has played a very important role in the link between the PS and LFI.”
Social media is on fire
On Twitter, the environmentalist even has his fan club, with a Twitter account La veste verte de Marine Tondelier, with more than 3,000 followers, who shares his best interventions and punchlines. Behind these videos, some of which have reached several hundred thousand views, is Alexis, 35 years old and an EELV sympathizer, very happy to “see a craze” for his account since the start of the legislative elections.
He praises his idol for a political profile “with many assets in terms of substance and form. She is very clear, direct and calm in her interventions and that feels good: she is neither timid nor outrageous. Finally, perhaps the most important thing: she is the only female party leader on the left, and she found her own personal style very quickly, far from any gender stereotype.”
“He remains a secondary personality”
The left undeniably has a new head above the fray, but is it enough to bring a victorious dynamic to the second round? Rémi Lefebvre puts the brakes on May: “She is not a presidential candidate and she remains a secondary personality”. Her greatest strength, her sense of personal sacrifice, remains her weakness. By staying in Hénin-Beaumont even if it means losing for sure, “she has no local ties, she is not an MP, she loses electoral weight”, continues the expert. Proof of this still featherweight outside of left-wing voters, Jordan Bardella and Gabriel Attal refused to debate with her, wanting to tackle a bigger piece.
Sophie Jehel, lecturer in information and communication sciences at the University of Paris-8, points out a second major limitation: “The problem is the media’s fascination with Mélenchon. The place of women has been crushed recently in televised debates, however competent Marine Tondelier may be.”
The heavy shadow of Mélenchon
The boss of France Insoumise seems, for his part, rather reluctant to put his crushing shadow aside or to remain silent. Even today, a vitriolic tweet from the old duke designated Manuel Bompard as the NFP candidate to put up against Jordan Bardella.
Legislative politics does not lend itself to the game of the providential man, or woman in this case. Bruno Cautrès, a CNRS researcher and political scientist, explains: “The personality of the candidates counts of course, but the effect, except for the presidential election or in their local constituency, is very marginal. The votes correspond to deep logics, sociological and territorial anchors, ideological considerations. So I don’t see Marine Tondelier as a “game changer.”
As fresh and consensual as it may be, the environmentalist will certainly not prevent the New Popular Front from an announced and probably inevitable defeat. The fact remains that “it is a strong political birth certificate”, for Christian Delporte. And that, in the current political climate, is already not bad for the left.
