Parachuted into the first constituency of Aude, Philippe Poutou reacts to his surprising arrival in the territory. He displays his determination to campaign against the outgoing National Rally deputy, Christophe Barthès.
Philippe Poutou is a media-famous name. A former candidate for two presidential elections, the latter finds himself parachuted into the first constituency of Aude in a context where the National Rally was a hit during the European elections. But the candidate of the New Anti-Capitalist Party (NPA), supported by the New Popular Front, says he is determined to confront the outgoing far-right deputy Christophe Barthès, but he is also aware of the dissidences, particularly within the local Socialist Party. Interview.
Why were you parachuted into the first constituency of Aude?
We, the NPA, don’t really like this situation. But this last one is special. We knew that there was a rough distribution of left-wing blocs in the quota of La France insoumise (LFI), it was a question of leaving a small place for other organizations like ours. It was LFI which controlled all of this and you saw how they did it (several outgoing deputies from the party, notably Raquel Garrido and Alexis Corbières were not reinvested, arousing the anger of the other components of the Popular Front, editor’s note). They told us that we were entitled to a circo, we don’t know where it comes from, there is no proportionality. Every time they offered us a territory it didn’t suit us because choices had been made. So, they offered us Carcassonne, on June 14 in the afternoon. The leaders of France Insoumise told us that it was the last and if we said no, it was over for us. We want to fully play the game of unity against the far right. However, we were worried about the situation. Fortunately we quickly made contact with comrades from LFI and other parties.
The other two main candidates from Aude are the outgoing RN deputy, Christophe Barthès, and the former socialist deputy mayor of Carcassonne, Jean-Claude Perez, invested by the Macron camp. How do you campaign in a constituency where you are parachuted into despite your national notoriety?
As I have participated in presidential elections, and even other national elections where we campaign throughout the country, it is as if there was a form of habit of being at home all the time. The social and political observations that we can make, even if they are not the same from one territory to another, we still find almost the same problems. When you’re an activist, you’re used to it. We find comrades and allies, whether trade unionists or associations. We don’t feel like a stranger. Today, we want to impose a solution on the left. The concerns are very broad and common. The political terrain is very classic. I saw the welcome message from Christophe Barthès, we’re in the mood, it makes you smile. We are on something very caricatured. This is going to be colorful!
Your arrival has upset certain parties in the New Popular Front agreement, mainly the Socialist Party. If there is dissent, how will you respond?
We don’t worry about that. There is a campaign to wage, we have enough tensions. We will try to get started very quickly, there are plenty of things to do. Hoping that contact will be made quickly with the other parties. We know that there will be people who will be much less motivated, particularly in the PS. We must be aware of it, but there is a popular dynamic on the left. I have lots of positive feedback, it’s an enthusiasm that will be confirmed everywhere. We are not favorites, but we are counting on a desire to take the fight wherever we can.
