socialists are “aware” of being the center of attention

POLITICS – Sitting in a Parisian restaurant, a socialist senator savors: “We have become attractive again”. Close to Olivier Faure, the elected official watches with mischief as the number of PS memberships skyrocket since the dissolution and the central place regained, according to him, by his party in the National Assembly. A place of choice reinforced by the prospect of a motion of censure adopted against the government of Michel Barnier in the coming weeks.

“We are aware of our pivotal role. Many things depend on us”affirms a PS executive at HuffPostnot without fear of excessively inflating the muscles. In government too, we realize the weight that the socialists represent.

In an interview with Parisian published this weekend, spokesperson Maud Bregeon tried to appeal to PS deputies, so that they “are coming out of their submission to Jean-Luc Mélenchon” and that they “come around the table”. In French: let them renounce censorship. “I know some people are ready for it”decides Maud Bregeon, who believes that the socialists “have an immense responsibility” because they are located “at the crossroads”.

Words that slam, intended to increase the pressure on the shoulders of the deputies led by Boris Vallaud and to convince them to grant a reprieve to the Barnier government. At least for a few months. Otherwise it is “a France without budget or government” which is looming, attacks the government spokesperson (while the scenario of a “ shutdown » in the American style is institutionally impossible in France). After the RN, accused of wanting to install the « chaos » by opening the door to a vote on the motion of censure, it is now the turn of the PS to take the slaps.

“Anti-democratic brutality”

“Is the PS group, which includes a former President of the Republic, ready to vote on a motion of censure with Mathilde Panot and Marine Le Pen to bring down the government and cause economic and institutional instability? »castigates someone close to Michel Barnier in La Tribune Sunday. The socialists repeat that there is no other path than that of censorship. “We will table and vote on motions of censure whenever what is presented to us by the government is contrary to our values ​​and the interests of the greatest number. Respect for our voters goes through this”defends the First Secretary of the PS Olivier Faure. The same judge as “the left must be called to govern” in the event of failure of the current executive.

With the three other leaders of the New Popular Front (NFP), he signed on November 21 in the World a platform squeezing a budget which “prolongs the social breakdown”does not act sufficiently against climate change and promotes “undemocratic brutality”. To which Olivier Faure, Manuel Bompard, Marine Tondelier and Fabien Roussel responded by filing a motion of censure. As such, 73% of PS supporters want the government to be overthrown, according to an Ipsos survey for La Tribune Sunday unveiled on November 24.

“The PS is looking for allies”

However, in the event of overthrow of the government, the hardest part begins. The socialists cannot agree on what to do next. The mayor of Saint-Ouen Karim Bouamrane pleads for a “technical government”. “Peace of the brave, everyone takes back their marbles, and we prepare for the next elections”defended on Sud Radio the elected official known for his hostile positions to La France insoumise. Conversely, the boss of the pink deputies Boris Vallaud explained on franceinfo that he wanted to start a discussion with all the parliamentary groups, except the RN, in order to seek convergence and build bridges. A strategy that resembles that enacted by MP Philippe Brun this summer. He pleaded, somewhat against the grain, for “a non-censorship agreement” with the Macronists.

These vacillations arouse the annoyance of Jean-Luc Mélenchon, who suspects his allies of seeking to build “a new common base with others in place of the New Popular Front”. The three-time presidential candidate cuts to the chase: “The PS is looking for allies. But it will be without LFI”. The NFP coalition seems to be floundering, with its two ends – the PS and LFI – each pulling the cover towards itself. Fortunately for the supporters of the union, in the shorter term, the left as a whole will vote in favor of the repeal of the pension reform, tabled by La France insoumise in its parliamentary niche on Thursday. A good way to mend ties… Before a period of unrest where the NFP boat should start to rock again.

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