In Toulouse, left-wing forces seek their way to the Capitol

A little boost towards the Capitol. Tuesday, November 12, two components of the Toulouse left began their process towards the municipal elections of 2026. First at Les Ecologistes, where around 120 activists designated their leader for the next elections. This will be Régis Godec, a 51-year-old librarian, regional co-secretary of the party in the former Midi-Pyrénées region. With 62.5% of the votes, he is ahead of Antoine Maurice, municipal councilor and former leader of the left during the 2020 elections.

Supported by the Citizen Archipelago movement, Mr. Maurice failed against the current mayor, Jean-Luc Moudenc (ex-Les Républicains), with a score of 48.01% in the second round. The appointment of Régis Godec comes as a small surprise among the local Greens. Candidate for the European elections in June and the legislative elections of 2022, elected alongside the mayor, Pierre Cohen (socialist), between 2008 and 2014, he opposed the Citizen Archipelago approach in 2020 and has no longer sat since, to the municipal council.

“I finally want to put an end to the Toulouse paradox, a city which votes left in all elections, but fails to take back the town hall”reacted Mr. Godec to the Monde. For this, those who joined the Greens in 2005 intend “present a single list in 2026”. “I feel capable of leading this list, but the most important thing is to start discussions with all the parties, unions and citizen and associative movements”he adds.

“Collective momentum”

The road seems winding for a Toulouse left which has been tearing itself apart since 2014 and seems incapable of delighting a city which nevertheless seems acquired. The day after the 2020 elections, the coalition led by Archipel Citoyen was shattered within the municipal council. Supported lip service by Carole Delga, socialist president of the Occitanie region during the second round, the team between La France insoumise (LFI), Europe Ecologie-Les Verts, the Socialist Party (PS) and civil society then demonstrated all its differences.

Since then, everyone has positioned themselves. This Tuesday, Archipel Citoyen also made its return, in front of 250 people, “unheard of”, according to Caroline Honvault, elected in Toulouse Métropole. In 2020, this movement created a surprise in the first round with a score of 27.56%, ahead of the socialist candidate, Nadia Pellefigue (18.53%). By launching the process of a new “Political and citizen cooperative”, the movement believes that this “collective momentum marks the beginning of a mobilization to build a democratic, social and ecological project on the scale of Toulouse and its Metropolis”. Arnaud Rivière, one of the two spokespersons, affirms that Citizen Archipelago “is ready to start discussions to come together in a common project”. While maintaining the specificity of the movement, its participatory workshops or its approach « inclusive ».

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