All posts tagged: Jean-Luc Mélenchon

French MEP Rima Hassan files lawsuit over leaks following arrest – POLITICO

French MEP Rima Hassan files lawsuit over leaks following arrest – POLITICO

Published by Sam Flores

The French daily Le Parisien reported — as Hassan was questioned by police — that “a few grams of synthetic drugs” had been found in her handbag. On Wednesday, French outlet Le Canard Enchaîné reported that a justice ministry spokesperson, Sacha Straub-Kahn, had been in contact with members of the press during Hassan’s questioning, “discussing with them the details of her detention.” Straub-Kahn and his office did not immediately respond to POLITICO’s request for comment about the allegations contained in the report. He told Le Canard Enchaîné that he had only discussed journalists’ questions about Hassan’s parliamentary immunity. During questions in parliament Wednesday, Justice Minister Gérald Darmanin announced that Straub-Kahn had filed a complaint for defamation following the publication of the report. Darmanin also said he had requested an internal audit at the justice ministry to verify if any leaks had occurred. Hassan’s lawyer, Vincent Brengarth, wrote in a statement Wednesday: “In light of the very serious revelations … regarding the massive, real-time disclosure in the press of information covered by the confidentiality of legal …

Feuding French Socialists leave presidential prospects in disarray – POLITICO

Feuding French Socialists leave presidential prospects in disarray – POLITICO

Published by Sam Flores

“Even though the Socialists didn’t lose the municipal elections, we would be wrong to believe that we won them,” he told Le Parisien. Family feud Faure and Vallaud represent the two dueling visions of the Socialists’ future, and their divergent beliefs on how to choose a candidate for 2027 reflect that. Faure wants to look left. He is gunning for a broad primary, save for France Unbowed, to select a single candidate for the 2027 presidential race among the Socialists, the Greens, the Communists and other left-wing parties. Supporters argue such a primary would maximize the chances of a left-wing candidate reaching the second round. In the French presidential system, only two candidates qualify for the runoff, and many believe National Rally President Jordan Bardella’s strong poll numbers effectively guarantee him a spot in the final, even this early. “There’s an illusion that we’re going to win by bringing people who have voted for Macron twice back into the fold, even though they haven’t supported the left for over a decade,” said a Faure-aligned parliamentarian …

Former French PM best placed to beat far right in 2027 presidential race, poll shows – POLITICO

Former French PM best placed to beat far right in 2027 presidential race, poll shows – POLITICO

Published by Sam Flores

The various scenarios polled by Elabe showed Philippe netting as much as 25.5 percent of the vote depending on which other candidates feature in the race, far better than any leftist candidate or Philippe’s centrist and center-right rivals. The survey shows the National Rally retaining its place as France’s most popular political party and its candidate on track to comfortably qualify for the runoff in the country’s two-round voting system. Both Bardella and Le Pen come in ahead of the second-place finisher in all scenarios tested, often by double digits. The poll also tested voter intentions for the second round of the vote, which showed a potential tight race. Philippe defeats Le Pen in a head-to-head matchup 53 percent to 47 percent. If he were to face Bardella, that shrinks to 51.5 percent to 48.5 percent — within the margin of error. In the last survey taken of second-round scenarios in November, Bardella was seen beating all his challengers from the center-right to the hard left. Far-right figures have publicly dismissed the poll, and with …

Former French PM Lionel Jospin dies at 88 – POLITICO

Former French PM Lionel Jospin dies at 88 – POLITICO

Published by Sam Flores

Jospin, a defender of traditional parties, had criticized President Emmanuel Macron for making them obsolete and the French president’s “hubris” in a book published in 2020. Macron praised Jospin as “a great French figure” in a social media post Monday. “Through his rigor, courage and ideal of progress, he embodied a lofty vision of the Republic,” Macron wrote on X. Jospin, who successfully united the left camp during his tenure as the party’s leader in the 1990s and became prime minister in 1997, supported the left-wing alliance uniting the Socialists, the Greens and far-left France Unbowed during the 2022 legislative election campaign. But he cautioned against France Unbowed leader Jean-Luc Mélenchon’s disruptive political strategy shortly after the election, warning of its potentially destructive effects on the broader left in an interview with Le Monde. Jospin’s death was announced the morning after local elections that are setting the scene for the 2027 presidential race, at a time when the left is weakened by deep divisions among moderates over whether uniting with a dominant but increasingly toxic Mélenchon is inevitable — or …

French far right’s success in Champagne buoys presidential dream – POLITICO

French far right’s success in Champagne buoys presidential dream – POLITICO

Published by Sam Flores

Historically, the complex dynamic of ad hoc, last-minute alliances that shape local elections in France’s two-round system has worked against the National Rally, with the far right accusing the rest of the political class of conspiring to keep it out of power. But its leaders now hope they can break that glass ceiling ahead of next year’s presidential race. During his speech at the rally, Bardella’s message to France’s conservative party was simple: “Join us,” he said. “We are facing a wall that is being built against us,” Jacobelli told POLITICO on the sidelines of the rally. “It is not a glass ceiling, it is a reflex of self-preservation” from other parties. The first round of local elections on Sunday delivered mixed results for the poll-topping, far-right party, highlighting how a decisive breakthrough still eludes Marine Le Pen, Jordan Bardella and their allies in France’s biggest cities. | Marion Solletty/POLITICO During Bardella’s speech, a small group overcome by enthusiasm chanted “Jor-dan president, Jor-dan president” — forgetting for the moment that Marine Le Pen, who had …

France struggles to find political equilibrium – POLITICO

France struggles to find political equilibrium – POLITICO

Published by Sam Flores

It appears this surge was driven, at least in part, by geopolitical developments — specifically the war in Iran. Based on impressions on the ground, heightened anti-war sentiment seems to have mobilized both the Muslim and young hard-left voters who form the party’s base. The implications of this are significant: Many had written Mélenchon off after a series of scandals and a dip in national polling. But these successes suggest he may yet play an important role in shaping the presidential elections — again — making it difficult for a more moderate left candidate to emerge and possibly even reaching the final run-off alongside the far right. Meanwhile, France’s traditional parties — the center-left Socialists and center-right Republicans — continue to display an unexpected resilience at the local level, despite being nationally sidelined since 2017. Together they dominated a majority of towns, including many of the country’s largest cities, remaining deeply embedded in municipal politics. By contrast, French President Emmanuel Macron’s centrist movement remains conspicuously weak, having failed to establish a meaningful municipal base after …

Far-left Mélenchon seizes momentum in French elections – POLITICO

Far-left Mélenchon seizes momentum in French elections – POLITICO

Published by Sam Flores

“That’s his strategy,” said a Socialist Party adviser who, like others quoted in this story, was granted anonymity to discuss party politics. “We are capable of taking a dive in elections, but France Unbowed never takes a dive, they never go under 10 percent” in national elections, the adviser said. “But there isn’t a scenario in which he wins in a runoff vote against Bardella.” The difficulty for the moderate left is compounded by the fact that Mélenchon is one of the most charismatic politicians on the left. He has even drawn the reluctant admiration of Le Pen’s niece, Marion Maréchal, who called him “the most cultured” politician around. But what’s true of the left is also to some extent true of the conservatives and the center right, which are enmeshed in internal squabbling to see who can assume Macron’s mantle. “What are the political offers on the table and who is there to embody them?” asked a close ally of the French president. “I can see what the extremes are offering, but in between, …

5 takeaways from France’s local elections – POLITICO

5 takeaways from France’s local elections – POLITICO

Published by Sam Flores

The prime example is the northern city of Lille, where the France Unbowed candidate was by one projection in a tie with the incumbent center-left mayor. France Unbowed is also on track to come in first in Roubaix, a populous, working-class city on Lille’s outskirts. The party’s prospects in this contest were very much in question after a controversy surrounding the death of a far-right activist last month. But France Unbowed’s strategy of focusing on young voters and working-class urban populations, often of immigrant descent, is delivering despite repeated controversies, particularly accusations of antisemitism against Mélenchon. “This election confirms that there is a strong France Unbowed constituency in big cities,” said Jean-Yves Dormagen, a political scientist and head of polling institute Cluster17. Dormagen also highlighted the highly polarized and fragmented nature of France’s political landscape, confirmed by Sunday’s results. In many cities, up to four or five candidates qualified for the runoff, a situation that used to be an exception a few years ago. Moderate left will have a few headaches This fragmented political landscape is inflicting …

How to watch Sunday’s vote like a pro – POLITICO

How to watch Sunday’s vote like a pro – POLITICO

Published by Sam Flores

Marseille, France’s second city, is. And the incumbent center-left candidate there faces a serious challenge from the National Rally. Other southern cities such as Nice, Toulon and Nîmes are also far-right targets, so keep an eye on those to get a sense of whether voters are ready to hand Le Pen or Jordan Bardella the keys to the Elysée next year. MARSEILLE LOCAL ELECTION POLL OF POLLS For more polling data from across Europe visit POLITICO Poll of Polls. Le Havre should be on your watch list too, because it’s former Prime Minister Édouard Philippe’s home base. Philippe is the mayor and is running for reelection before he sets his sights on the presidency in 2027. He’s seen as one of the strongest candidates to take on the far right, but polling suggests he faces a make-or-break battle to hold on to Le Havre. On the left, the Greens risk losing several of the big cities they picked up six years ago, such as Bordeaux or Lyon, which could further weaken the party after a string of underwhelming …

Forget Le Pen. French politics has a new archvillain. – POLITICO

Forget Le Pen. French politics has a new archvillain. – POLITICO

Published by Sam Flores

“We condemn both extreme-left and extreme-right wrongdoing,” said a government official, who was granted anonymity to speak candidly on the sensitive topic. “But there has been a complacency toward the far left, a sort of romanticism in France about the radical left that is dangerous.” Mélenchon, for his part, has long been a controversial figure in French politics, including for his refusal to immediately condemn the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas-led attack on Israel. That position crystallized in recent days after he praised the spirit of “resistance” of the Young Guard, a now-disbanded antifascist group that was cofounded by a France Unbowed lawmaker and accused of involvement in the fight; blamed the authorities for the violence; and attacked the National Assembly president for suspending the parliamentary aide who is now under investigation for his role in the affair. Looking further ahead, one Socialist Party official warned against counting out the savvy political veteran Jean-Luc Mélenchon with more than a year to go before the presidential election. | Bertrand Guay/AFP via Getty Images Left gets squeezed Though …