In her large office on the first floor of the town hall of Rennes, Nathalie Appéré welcomes her visitors with a smile, still happy to have thwarted the predictions. The one the Greens hoped to unbolt during the last municipal elections held firm by taking the lead in front of their green allies in the first round. Re-elected with 65.35% of the second vote, she did better than Johanna Rolland, her Breton neighbor, mayor of Nantes (59.6%). Nathalie Appéré does not remain less discreet: unknown to the general public, this quadra was part of the team of mayors of Anne Hidalgo during the presidential election. An adventure that turned into a way of the cross for this local elected official, propelled to the forefront of the national scene as spokesperson for the socialist candidate. She, who had not previously experienced any electoral failure since joining the municipal council of Rennes in 2001, ate her black bread.
Since then, Nathalie Appéré has regained her freedom and chosen to support the candidacy of Olivier Faure at the head of the PS, not that of Nicolas Mayer-Rossignol. She is one of the great local elected officials who defend Nupes while keeping their distance from Jean-Luc Mélenchon. “Without a union of the left, there can be no victory. And the Nupes does not aim to dilute our identities, “insists the one who was deputy during the five-year term of François Hollande.
Elected mayor of Rennes in 2014, it was without blinking that she decided in 2017 to give up running again for the National Assembly, preferring her term as mayor. A choice made compulsory by the law on non-accumulation, which does not prevent him from engaging in national bodies. Vice-president of the Association of Large Cities of France, President of the National Housing Agency (from 2015 to 2020), since September 2020 she has been Secretary General of Urban France, the association which brings together metropolises, communities cities, urban communities and major cities in France. Key positions that allowed him to make his voice heard in the ministries and to integrate the category “hopes of the left”.
Le Point: The internal battle to appoint the leader of the PS was brutal. How did you experience it?
Nathalie Appéré: I was saddened by the show we gave of ourselves. It was not up to the challenges of the moment. However, I want to remember that there was a landing point: the Marseille congress ended better than it started. Now, we must leave our internal vicissitudes aside to move forward in the reconstruction of the left.
Isn’t the new leadership of the PS, with two first deputy secretaries, preparing repeated psychodramas?
There is a first secretary, a collegiate management and a clear political line. Now, we must move forward, in particular by relying on the work carried out by the elected Socialist representatives in charge, whether at local or national level. I hear the little music that says we haven’t worked hard enough. I find this criticism misplaced, especially when it comes from those who have remained in the background, even though they were welcome to contribute to the debate.
Who are you aiming at? The “elephants” who, like François Hollande or Bernard Cazeneuve, criticize the choices of the PS carried by Olivier Faure?
They clearly have a share of responsibility in our failure in the presidential election and continue to hide the work of all the socialists who act and fight. Elected socialists who have committed to their convictions have not strung pearls. Even today, it is enough to look at the work of our parliamentarians to realize this… Our last parliamentary niche showed what the socialists are and their ability to act. The bill brought by Philippe Brun [deputé PS de l’Eure, NDLR] to guarantee the non-dismantling of EDF, which was adopted, that on the meal at 1 € in university restaurants, even if it was rejected by one vote by the right and the macronists, testify to our ability to transform everyday life. These are two profoundly socialist proposals, which united the left. Similarly, resolute opposition to pension reform is also in the DNA of socialists.
Do you think the pay-as-you-go pension system needs reform? But how to sustain it?
The question of the usefulness of a reform deserves to be asked, as evidenced by the debates of figures and the analyzes of the COR on the very relative deterioration of the financial situation of the pension system. The other problem with this reform is its tempo. While our country, emerging from a pandemic and with the energy crisis and the war in Ukraine, is weakened, fractured and worried, the political moment requires reassuring and creating common rather than dividing… The last problem is linked to the method. Emmanuel Macron was so braced on his status as a reformist that he had a totally political approach: he was content to make eyes at the Republicans to have a majority. Not only was he unable to compromise with the social partners, he managed to alienate France’s most reformist union, the CFDT! In our social democracy, pension reform can only be achieved through compromise. All this to go down in history as the greatest reformer… It’s completely out of touch and guilty. This reform is unnecessary, unjust and brutal. It hides a fundamental question: that of the distribution of wealth. The fruit of capital is far more abundant than the fruit of labor. However, raising the retirement age penalizes the most vulnerable and comes down to putting the only workers to work… What is expressed in the demonstrations is the feeling that it is always the same people who contribute while enrichment of those who own has never been so important.
The ecological transition necessarily involves the reduction of inequalities. If I am an environmentalist, it is not only for the planet, but also in the name of equality. Thus, the work of Belgian Paul Magnette, which I find very inspiring, on ecological socialism shows three major inequalities which, if left unaddressed, will lead to our downfall. The first is an inequality of responsibility: it is the poorest who have the lowest carbon emissions and the lowest ecological impact. Conversely, the population that concentrates the wealth is the one that contributes the most to climate change. The second is an inequality of exposure: it is the poorest who suffer the most from environmental harm. Finally, the third is unequal access: it is the wealthiest who benefit most from a good natural environment, isolated housing, quality education… We must ask more effort from those who pollute more. Fighting global warming means fighting these three inequalities. The ideological compass of the socialists is precisely there. I believe in a new prosperity that is less based on possessions, money and hyperconsumption and more on access to public services, education, culture and health. The ecological transition carries this new ideal, with equality as a central value.
How do you experience the outbursts and radicalism of certain Nupes deputies in the Assembly?
I remind you that the Nupes is a coalition, and that it was certain rebels who theorized the question of conflictualization. I regret and condemn a certain number of behaviors and remarks that take away from substantive debates. They produce mistrust on the part of our fellow citizens towards the political class. People feel that politicians are only good for acting in a bad theater. With regard to pension reform, I precisely think that we have arguments and that we are strong enough to oppose, without getting lost in postures or statements that are unacceptable in a democracy.
The macronists accuse the Nupes of helping to raise the National Rally by dint of slippages!
This strategy of demonization of the left led by the government, which seeks to put an equal sign between the Nupes and the RN, is a heresy which risks leading to democratic bankruptcy. I do not forget that, from 2017 to 2022, Emmanuel Macron made the choice to designate Marine Le Pen as his best enemy and as the only alternative. The result lived up to his expectations: he bears responsibility for the election of the 88 RN deputies! And let’s not forget that the two RN vice-presidents of the Assembly were elected with Macronist votes. If Marine Le Pen is at the gates of power, Emmanuel Macron is the main culprit. To say that it is the excesses of the parliamentary debate of a few Insoumis deputies who are raising the RN is a bit strong… Demonizing the opposition makes Marine Le Pen’s bed. Ditto at the local level, my macronist opponents also strive to put an equal sign between me and Mélenchon in an attempt to caricature me. I am not Jean-Luc Mélenchon. I have never hidden my differences in analysis or positioning, but I am able to see what can unite the left when it comes to fighting against inequalities. I claim radical measures, not postures.
The fight against the ideas of the RN is consubstantial with my commitment. I started political action to fight these rancid ideas that lead nowhere. The fact remains that the threat has never been so strong. We have to think of the alternative. This is why I believe in the gathering of the left and environmentalists to embody another project, another ecological transition and another social justice. In history, the left only wins if it is united. It is up to us to impose our ideas in the democratic debate. It’s up to us to make credible proposals to get the whole left on board.
How will the next elections go for the left?
For the Europeans of 2024, I want a gathering of socialists and environmentalists. Our differences with the Insoumis on the European level are extremely strong… and difficult to reconcile, and clarity is essential. It will not be a question, in this election, of qualifying a candidate in the second round as presidential and winning against a right-wing candidate. But, whatever happens, we will have to continue to talk to each other. The Nupes is used for this. Under the Fifth Republic, while socialists were a driving force, victories were only possible by rallying the left. Our constituents are here to remind us! You have to measure how relieved they were by the Nupes agreement. They’ve been telling us for months, “You guys work really well together locally, why the hell aren’t you able to unite for the presidency?” The Nupes gave the signal that our voters were waiting for.
In this refoundation of the left, what role do you want to play?
The one that has been mine for several years, that of an elected official invested in a territory where we have a compass and where we produce political innovation: from single rent in social housing to massive measures for access to culture, through the preservation of agricultural land. I will continue to show that the united left works locally. I also intend to continue, within the PS, to work to build bridges and nourish our proposals.
Weaving bridges between the different currents of the PS…
Yes, because to unite the left, you must first unite your own family.
Are resentments within the PS not likely to weigh on this refoundation?
Resentment does not move forward. It is by creating desire that we can gather. If we show what we are actually doing in Parliament and in our communities, we will bring hope. Today, as curious as it may seem, there are people who are happy to join the Socialist Party. They think that the left has a future in this country and that the PS can be the central force. Let’s prove them right!
