Jean-Luc Mélenchon is not a candidate for the legislative elections but the question of his ambitions as Prime Minister is omnipresent in the campaign. His latest statements reignite the debate.
Jean-Luc Mélenchon in Matignon? This is the question that is asked of all the candidates of the New Popular Front for the legislative elections. While the founder of La France insoumise is far from unanimous on the left, he continues to position himself for the post of Prime Minister in the event of cohabitation. “I intend to govern this country,” he said on France 5 this weekend, without specifying whether he was talking about himself or the left as a whole. The sentence was enough to revive the conjectures.
Jean-Luc Mélenchon also responded to Raphaël Glucksmann, who affirmed that the rebel would not be the Prime Minister of the New Popular Front: “Ah, but, Mr. Glucksmann, we must not speak too quickly like that, we will discuss. And we agreed on at least one point: it is the most important parliamentary group which presents the candidate for prime minister”, he recalled. Jean-Luc Mélenchon said he was “obviously” ready for a nomination to Matignon: “Two years ago, we ran a ‘Mélenchon Prime Minister’ campaign, I’m not going to tell you two years later ‘ah no, not I don’t know about it.’ I’m not being stupid! I say things as they are. So I said ‘I’m not eliminating myself but I’m not imposing myself’. collective.”
Enough to delight the Macronist camp, which is campaigning on the fears of many voters of seeing Jean-Luc Mélenchon arrive in Matignon. Gabriel Attal also hastened to ask the rebellious leader to participate in the debate scheduled for Tuesday, which will pit the Prime Minister, Jordan Bardella and Manuel Bompard against each other.
“No one can proclaim themselves Prime Minister”
Conversely, on the side of LFI’s partners within the New Popular Front, it is becoming increasingly difficult to deny the ambitions of Jean-Luc Mélenchon. However, many people openly say they do not want to see him join Matignon. “I tell Jean-Luc Mélenchon, no one can proclaim themselves Prime Minister,” insists Fabien Roussel this Monday on France Bleu. “He is not in the New Popular Front, he is not there,” insists the communist leader. The founder of LFI was in fact not present during the negotiations and is not a candidate in the legislative elections.
“In the end, it will not be Jean-Luc Mélenchon,” insisted Raphaël Glucksmann on Friday June 14 on France Inter, arguing “that we need a person who creates consensus within the groups that are there.” “Jean-Luc Mélenchon will not be Prime Minister,” socialist Carole Delga also decided on Thursday June 13.
Even the rebellious François Ruffin made the observation: “In all honesty, during the first door-to-door knocking, his name came up, and with concern. And that’s why I think he is right to withdraw “, reported the deputy for Somme to Courrier Picard, before concluding: “It seems obvious that he will not be Prime Minister.” Enough to make Jean-Luc Mélenchon say that François Ruffin “chose to break” with his party.