The general secretary of the French Communist Party (PCF), Fabien Roussel, decides to place himself on the sidelines of the New Popular Front (NFP). A carefully considered decision after its failure in the last legislative elections.
After François Ruffin, it is up to Fabien Roussel to distance himself from La France insoumise (LFI): “If I had to run again, it would not be in an alliance with LFI” he said in an interview with At Parisian. These comments echo his defeat in the 20th constituency of the North, against Guillaume Florquin of the National Rally. Having left the first round of the early legislative elections last June, he regrets this union without which he would have “retained his position”.
As a reminder, the New Popular Front (NFP) was created at short notice, the day after the dissolution of the National Assembly by the President of the Republic, Emmanuel Macron. In the hope of blocking the National Rally, this great union of the left brought together the PS, EELV and LFI. An alliance with less than stellar results, if we are to believe the communist deputy: “It allows for big scores in the big cities, but small ones in the rural areas and the sub-prefectures. It even got people to vote RN ! “. For the defeated candidate, the battle was even lost in advance: “The alliance, as it was constructed, does not allow us to win,” he asserts.
The presence of Jean-Luc Mélenchon called into question
In a survey Odoxa-The New Obs38% of French people said they could vote NFP… without the presence of Jean-Luc Mélenchon. And the communist candidate claims to receive numerous testimonies to this effect: “Fabien, we love you, but Mélenchon, we don’t want it”, the “identity fight” led by La France Insoumise would, according to him, be both a “sesame in the suburbs” and a “foil in rurality”. Regretting the “double-edged” personality of the multiple candidate for the presidential election and the “identity battle” of the Insoumis, he now intends to distance himself from the party.
Despite everything, he does not intend to give up on an alliance of the left, a project which remains dear to Fabien Roussel: “I do not reject the union of the left altogether, but we must weigh it carefully because we can build it differently”. As far as the PCF is concerned, it will put distancing itself from LFI “on the agenda”. A statement which has the merit of being clear.