France’s new leftwing unity pact is showing signs of cracking, barely two days after it was formed in a move that threatened to eclipse the centrist alliance of Emmanuel Macron in forthcoming snap elections.
Far-left leader Jean-Luc Mélenchon launched an overnight purge of moderates in his party who had advocated for unity, prompting a furious backlash from other leftwing leaders. Olivier Faure, the socialist chief, called it “scandalous”.
The creation of the New Popular Front could seriously harm the prospects of pro-Macron candidates by making it much harder for them to qualify for the second round run-off on July 7. The first round takes place on June 30.
The possibility of a far-right government with the left as the largest opposition force — both groups that have massive unfunded spending plans — has rattled financial markets, prompting a sell-off of French debt and equities this week.
Some 75,000 people took part in a demonstration in Paris on Saturday afternoon against the far-right, the police said. The CGT union said 250,000 had taken part in the capital, and 640,000 in protests nationwide.
The NPF was only agreed on Thursday after intense negotiations between four leftwing parties. The parties are deeply divided on the economy, EU policy and Ukraine but have buried their differences to maximise their chances against Marine Le Pen’s Rassemblement National.
But Mélenchon’s purge has put the NPF under strain. The head of France Insoumise (France Unbowed) removed several colleagues who had previously criticised his extreme positions from the LFI list of election candidates. He included in the list Adrien Quatennens, a protégé and controversial LFI MP who has been accused by his wife of domestic violence.
The move by Mélenchon, a deeply polarising politician, prompted a furious reaction from the purged members and their sympathisers.
“It’s totally petty, small of him, settling scores when the challenge now is to prevent the far-right from taking power,” Alexis Corbières, one of the MPs removed as a candidate, told France Info.
Another, Raquel Garrido, posted on X: “Shame on you, Jean-Luc Mélenchon. This is sabotage. But I can do better. We can do better.”
Mélenchon’s critics say his loyalty to Quatennens is a betrayal of the left’s feminist principles.
Following the furore, Quatennens withdrew his candidacy on Sunday morning, removing the risk of another left politician running against him, which would have undermined the unity pact.
Political parties are scrambling to assemble their lists of candidates for the election before the deadline on Sunday afternoon.
Former French president François Hollande confirmed on Saturday he will run for parliament for the NPF.
Hollande’s candidacy in his home region of Corrèze took his colleagues by surprise. Faure, the socialist leader, said he “was not in the loop”.
If elected, Hollande would become only the second former head of state to take a seat in the National Assembly during the fifth republic. The other was Valéry Giscard d’Estaing.
Hollande said it was “an exceptional decision for an exceptional situation”, given that the far-right is closer to power than at any moment since France’s liberation from Nazi occupation in 1945.
To salvage as many seats as possible, Macron’s centrist alliance is trying to strike reciprocal local deals not to stand against each other with centre-right candidates that refuse to back RN.
The centre-right Les Répubicains party is also in disarray after its leader Eric Ciotti unilaterally agreed an alliance with the far-right. Furious colleagues on the party’s executive unanimously voted to expel Ciotti, but the decision was overturned by a Paris court on Friday night, leaving it unclear who was in charge of the list of candidates.
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