(updated with François Hollande saying he is in favor of the union of the left)
The left-wing parties reached an agreement on Thursday on a common program and on the distribution of constituencies between them in view of the early legislative elections of June 30 and July 7, they announced in a press release published in the name of a “new Front popular”.
On the right, Eric Ciotti, excluded on Wednesday from the Republicans (LR) whose presidency he has held since 2022 after his alliance with the National Rally, once again promised to fight by all means against this decision and predicted that the LR candidates who do not who did not follow him would be “crushed”.
In the presidential majority, Prime Minister Gabriel Attal tried to present his camp as the defender of “openness and tolerance” in the face of the projects of the extreme right and left.
He denounced the “agreement of shame” of the Socialist Party, of which he was a member, with La France insoumise.
SEE ALSO: France-The RN prepares a government, Ciotti goes it alone, tensions on the left
➦ France/Elections-The left seals its union, the RN prepares a government, Ciotti goes it alone
THE LATEST DEVELOPMENTS:
8:45 p.m.: François Hollande declared himself on TF1 in favor of the union of the left because of the need in his eyes to prevent the National Rally from gaining power.
“It is up to the left to do its duty. Its duty is to unite (…) that is to say, to be able to bring together all the political families of the left which have differences ( …) but who demonstrate responsibility”, said the former President of the Republic. “What is essential is that the union was able to take place (…) I am in favor of this agreement for the popular front.”
8:22 p.m.: The left-wing parties have agreed on a common program and on the distribution of constituencies with a view to the early legislative elections of June 30 and July 7 in France, they announced in a joint press release published under the banner of a “New Popular Front”.
“With a government program and unique candidacies in the constituencies of France, the political forces which constituted the new Popular Front are meeting the French on June 30 and July 7,” it is written in this communicated.
7:30 p.m.: Asked to say by journalists on the sidelines of the G7 summit in Italy if he felt weakened on the international scene after his camp’s setback in the European elections and his decision to dissolve the National Assembly, Emmanuel Macron replied: “No. I don’t think so. My interlocutors are all democratically elected representatives, they all said ‘it’s courageous’ (…) It’s not me who has the strength internationally, it’s France (…) because it has an economic policy that works (…) All our compatriots who are committed to France being strong internationally must be consistent in their choice (…). ”
6:50 p.m.: “It’s a matter of minutes, at most hours, but by this evening we should have a final package ready” on the left, said Manon Aubry on RTL.
“We have always said that we will not give any vote to the extreme right,” she added about the voting instructions for the second round of the legislative elections.
3:10 p.m.: During his first campaign trip, to Boulogne-sur-Mer (Pas-de-Calais), Gabriel Attal called on the electorate of the social democratic left to rally the outgoing majority. “I am sorry to see that the Socialist Party, of which I was a member, made an agreement of shame” with La France insoumise and “put itself in the wheel of communitarianism”, he told journalists.
On
1:58 p.m. – “In four days, the left accomplished a feat (…) The work is delicate. The negotiation teams are doing a good job,” declares Jean-Luc Mélenchon on X.
1:53 p.m. – “Jean-Luc Mélenchon will not be Prime Minister,” assures PS president of the Occitanie region, Carole Delga, on X. “The debate around the future Prime Minister is premature,” she adds.
Jean-Luc Mélenchon said on Wednesday that he was “capable” of leading a government. In the process, the LFI deputy François Ruffin and the communist Fabien Roussel argued that they were also “capable” of governing in Matignon.
1:16 p.m. – “We have almost managed to agree on the government contract that will unite us,” communist leader Fabien Roussel told journalists, while the various left-wing parties are meeting to discuss their electoral agreement in view of the legislative election, in particular the thorny question of the distribution of nominations.
“We are discussing the unique left-wing candidates that we want to present in each of the constituencies, with the objective of winning, to form a majority. But here, the debates are a little tense,” he said. -he admitted. “We must choose the best among us in each of these constituencies who are capable of winning, and perhaps not the same as in 2022.”
11:30 a.m. – Appointed executive vice-president of the Republicans on Wednesday after the ouster of Eric Ciotti – a decision that the latter is contesting in court -, the former head of the conservative party list in the European elections, François-Xavier Bellamy, declared on Europe 1 that he would “obviously block La France Insoumise” by voting for an RN candidate in the second round of the legislative elections if he found himself in this configuration.
8:25 a.m. – Prime Minister Gabriel Attal once again warned on France Inter against the threat represented, according to him, by the extremes and promised on France Inter to “fight for a society of openness and tolerance”, notably making an appeal thumbs down on “social democratic voters” who would not recognize themselves in a left-wing alliance between the PS and LFI. “This is not a referendum for or against the President of the Republic,” he insisted.
Gabriel Attal also confirmed that the decree implementing the unemployment insurance reform recently adopted by Parliament would be promulgated as planned by July 1.
7:50 a.m. – There will be police and criminal action, warned Eric Ciotti on France 2, the day after the crazy day experienced by Les Républicains.
Dismissed on Wednesday from his position as president of the LR, Eric Ciotti denounced on Thursday the pressures suffered by many LR deputies so that they do not participate in the alliance he advocates with the RN. “This group could be even larger. Most of them will no longer be able to sit in the National Assembly, they will be crushed.”
7:45 a.m. – While the formalization of an agreement between left-wing parties is still awaited, Olivier Faure (PS) does not want Jean-Luc Mélenchon in Matignon, even if the controversial leader of France Insoumise (LFI) has said Wednesday evening ready to exercise the post of Prime Minister in the event of a left-wing majority in the National Assembly.
“I understand that he is ready, (…) he was the candidate of Nupes (the left-wing alliance in the previous legislative elections, Editor’s note) for this function and at the time he had very strong legitimacy, he was the man of 22% (in the first round of the 2022 presidential election, Editor’s note)”, declared Olivier Faure on RMC.
“Today, it’s a little different. We are in a fractured country, very fractured (…) When the new coalition has a majority, it will have to choose from among its members who is best able to repair weakened ties (…) This supposes that we have a profile which is not the most divisive but which on the contrary allows us to unite this country,” he added.
07:40 – Marion Maréchal said on TF1 that she experienced the exclusion of Reconquête “like an injustice”! delivered Wednesday evening by Eric Zemmour. “This exclusion is imposed on me, I am sad, I see this as an injustice. I am excluded for a political disagreement,” she said, describing certain comments by Eric Zemmour “unnecessarily hurtful “.
(Reuters editorial)
