François Ruffin will no longer sit with La France Insoumise if he is re-elected this Sunday, July 7. Invited on RTL, the outgoing deputy of the Somme formalized the divorce with Jean-Luc Mélenchon: the epilogue of two years of estrangement that has accelerated in recent months.
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The scene takes place during the last summer days of the Insoumis, in August 2023. François Ruffin has just concluded an intervention in which he criticizes the conflict strategy carried out by LFI. Jean-Luc Mélenchon comes on stage and takes him by the shoulder, all smiles. But the discussion is tense.
The relationship between the boss of the Insoumis and the deputy journalist already has lead in the wing: the management of LFI suspects François Ruffin of plotting against it. The sentence falls 15 days ago: several close associates of the deputy lose the investiture in the legislativehe decides to refuse it.
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Throughout the campaign, criticism of François Ruffin was harsh: he was supposedly ungrateful and had gone over to social democracy. So, on the evening of the first round, no one at the Insoumis election night seemed upset to see him in an unfavourable position against the RN.
The break is all the more clear since François Ruffin absolutely needs the transfer of votes from the Macron camp to hope to win. And Mélenchon’s “sound and fury” are not really appreciated in his constituency.
One question remains: if he is re-elected, will François Ruffin take some Insoumis deputies with him? A scenario that could isolate Jean-Luc Mélenchon a little more.
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