The former socialist candidate for the presidential election, Ségolène Royal, announced on Friday, August 25, her intention to lead a left “union” list with La France insoumise (LFI) in the next European elections, for which Les Ecologistes and the French Communist Party (PCF) have already designated their own list leaders.
“It’s about launching a dynamic of union”, declared Ségolène Royal in front of the press, during the summer universities of LFI. Could she lead this list herself? “That’s the idea,” she replied, noting that she had been thinking about the project since “before the summer.” “I am going into a dynamic of convergence”, with in particular LFI and the young socialists, who have come out in favor of a common list in the European elections, declared in particular Ms. Royal.
“We need a just order in Europe (…) We will show them that there is an alternative”, she said again to the press, defending herself from any “backtracking”. “The cause we stand for is bigger than us,” she said. LFI had not, late Friday afternoon, officially commented on the statements of the former minister.
In front of the press, before the announcement of Ségolène Royal and without referring to the latter, the leader of La France insoumise Manuel Bompard reaffirmed the position of his movement. “We are ready for this list to be led by a lead from the environmentalists, perhaps Marie Toussaint if that is their choice,” he said. “We observe several acts of disunity among our partners”, he also regretted, pointing, like Jean-Luc Mélenchon, to a “double talk” held by certain allies.
Discussion with Jean-Luc Mélenchon
After the environmentalists and the communists, who have already designated their respective heads of lists for the European elections in June, the socialists are in turn preparing to leave with their own list. The boss of the Socialist Party, Olivier Faure, said on Friday that he did not see “what would make it possible to hope for a single list”.
“If the left is not united with the next European (…) it will disappear, it will have been so disappointed in its division”, had estimated a little earlier the former socialist minister, during a debate with Manuel Bompard. This exchange was an opportunity for Ségolène Royal to be warmly applauded several times by “rebellious” activists, especially when she welcomed the opposition of Nupes to the pension reform at the start of the year. “Anger needs to be expressed, to make noise,” she said. During her day with the Insoumis in the Drôme, Ségolène Royal also exchanged with Jean-Luc Mélenchon, whom she had supported last year during the presidential election.