the unity of the New Popular Front put to the test

On the occasion of a partial legislative election which is being prepared in the first constituency of Isère, the New Popular Front (NFP) is not demonstrating perfect unity. The seat has been vacant since the resignation, recorded on October 15, of Hugo Prevost (La France insoumise, LFI), accused of sexist and sexual violence, but the official epilogue of the new investiture is still not known. Even if Lyes Louffok (LFI), parachuted from Paris, will probably be the NFP candidate during an election which should take place in mid-January 2025, the story of the negotiations which presided over this probable investiture underlines the tensions which permeate the left alliance.

First aborted episode: Lucie Castets, the rejected NFP candidate at Matignon, had considered running. LFI, which considers that this constituency is devolved to it according to the NFP agreement, was ready to support its candidacy, but if, and only if, it agreed to sit, in the event of victory, in the LFI group in the National Assembly . Lucie Castets did not agree, she preferred to sit with the Ecologists whom she considered to be “the group most representative of the diversity and unity of the left”. She ended up giving up.

Then, the local Socialist Party (PS), supported by its national leadership, stated that it wanted to maintain the candidacy of Amandine Germain. The departmental councilor was appointed a few days after the resignation of Hugo Prevost was made official. “We rather advocate a local candidacy which is known and in which people trust, rather than a candidacy imposed or parachuted from Paris, whatever the skills and abilities of the candidate”insisted, just a few days ago, Damien Perrard, federal secretary of the Isère PS. “Since the beginning [d’Hugo Prevost]we ask that this constituency be renegotiated with LFI [dans le cadre de l’accord électoral du NFP]specifies Pierre Jouvet, number two of the PS. And that Amandine Germain is the NFP candidate because she will have a better chance of rallying in the second round. »

Meeting shunned

On Wednesday October 30, local socialist and communist activists from Place publique, Raphaël Glucksmann's movement, and L'après, the LFI dissident movement, agreed, during a meeting shunned by the other forces of the NFP, on the principle of a single candidacy on the left, while maintaining, for the socialists, their support for Amandine Germain. “The important thing is to win, and without unity, we won’t get there,” recognized Emeric Vibert, head of the Grenoble section of the Communist Party.

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