At the new Popular Front, three shades of dissidence despite the union

POLITICS – On the left, everyone agrees: faced with the risk of an extreme right in power at the end of the early legislative elections, there is strength in unity. From this emergency was born the new Popular Front (NPF), with a program common to the PS, PCF, Ecologists and LFI and unique investitures to prevent a dispersion of left-wing voices. Finally on paper.

Of the 577 constituencies, 230 were granted to France Insoumise, 200 to the Socialists, 92 to the Ecologists and 50 to the Communists. But that was without counting on impromptu candidacies, like that of the former President of the Republic François Hollande in Corrèze.

Without also counting on Jérôme Guedj, outgoing deputy for the 6th constituency of Essonne, who refused the NFP nomination due to a break with La France insoumise. He will therefore face Hella Kribi-RomdhaneIle-de-France regional councilor and number 1 of Génération.s, who announced his candidacy “in the name of the New Popular Front”. “The Popular Front candidate in this constituency is Jérôme Guedj, and he is the only one who can have our support”, despite everything, affirmed the first secretary of the PS Olivier Faure on franceinfo this June 17. And this is not the only case where the left will have several representatives. A quick overview.

Leavers not reinvested but candidates

First of all, there are the constituencies where the outgoing elected officials have not been re-elected… but will still be candidates. In Seine-Saint-Denis, this is the case of Rachel Garrido (LFI, 5th constituency) andAlexis Corbière (LFI, 7th district). Excluded from the nominations by their movement against a backdrop of internal bickering, they maintained their candidacy (with the support of other left-wing parties) and will find themselves facing two other candidates nominated by LFI under the NFP label: Aly Diouara (5th) and Sabrina Ali Benali (7th).

Same situation in the 15th of Paris where Danielle Simonet was not re-invested by the rebels but maintains his candidacy. In its place, LFI chose Céline Verzeletti, former CGT executive. In the 5th constituency of Marseille, the outgoing (LFI) not reinvested Hendrick Davy will face Allan Popelard. Note that Frédéric Mathieu (LFI) finally gave up on remaining in Ille-et-Vilaine (1st) and therefore leaves the place to the invested candidate Marie Mesmeur. One less dissent.

Reprisals between parties

There are also dissidences in “revenge” mode, reflections of the disagreements which persist between the left-wing parties despite the union. Example in the 4th district of Seine-Saint-Denis. The outgoing MP Soumya Bourouaha was invested by the PCF as part of the NFP. But on Sunday June 16 in the evening, LFI announced that it would invest its candidate Mohamed Awad. The reason ? The annoyance of the rebels facing “the deliberate choice of the Communist Party to support several dissident candidates to the NFP agreement” in the department, assumes the movement in a press release. In addition to the support of communist executives, Raquel Garrido was able to count on that of the PCF mayor of Bobigny Abdel Sadi who presented himself as her deputy.

In the 1st constituency of the North, the double candidacy on the left was born from the investiture by LFI of Adrien Quatennens, outgoing deputy convicted of domestic violence. Despite this past and the tensions among its allies, LFI put it on its list but without the NFP label. Insufficient for activists of all stripes. In reaction, Amy Bahmember of the feminist collective Noustoutes, stood as a candidate on behalf of “values” of the New Popular Front but without obtaining the label. On Sunday, Adrien Quatennens finally gave up under pressure. Instead, the LFI management chose Aurélien Le Coq, former number 1 of the party’s youth branch. The rebels are now asking “the withdrawal of any dissident candidacy”.

Profiles that are not unanimous

Finally, there are dissents for disagreement on the invested profile. In the 1st constituency of Vaucluse, which covers Avignon and where the RN won in 2022, LFI appointed an activist from the anti-fascist Young Guard, a movement adopting a muscular and contested strategy against the far right. Raphaël Arnault, who comes from the Lyon region, is listed as “S” in the police register listing individuals potentially dangerous to national security, a source close to the matter confirmed to AFP. This choice caused an outcry among local elected officials, with the socialists denouncing its “too extremist profile”. The left-wing forces in Vaucluse therefore provided their support this Monday to a local activist, former labor inspector and humanitarian volunteer. Philippe Pascal.

Finally, in Aude, the inauguration (1st circo) of the former NPA presidential candidate Philippe Poutou did not create a sensation among the socialists of the department either. This Monday, June 17, the investiture of a new candidate was confirmed in The independent : Aurélien Turchetto, invested without label but with the support of local socialists. To our colleagues, he denounces the “parachute” by Philippe Poutou and his comments on Gaza and Hamas. “ In a land like ours, marked by the Trèbes attacks, it cannot happen like that,” he denounces.

Also see on The HuffPost: