François Hollande is a candidate for the legislative elections in the 1st constituency of Corrèze and under the banner of the Union of the Left. What weight does he hope to have in the election and in the New Popular Front?
Will François Hollande return to the benches of the National Assembly? The former President of the Republic hopes so since he is running in the early legislative elections of June 30 and July 7. A decision taken in view of the “exceptional” and “serious” situation that French politics is going through, more than to nourish personal ambitions, according to him. According to him, he is “necessary to take all the personalities that [peuvent] contribute to ensuring that there is [une] mobilization” against the rise of the far right.
The socialist therefore presented himself under the banner of the union of the left, the New Popular Front, in the 1st constituency of Corrèze, the one in which he was elected for 14 years until 2012. The man does not was not the first choice of the PS, but ended up winning over the candidacy of the mayor of Tulles, Bernard Combes, thanks to the support of the socialist federation of Corrèze. François Hollande therefore shows his support for the union of the left which he considers necessary. “In the first round, there is this union of the left. In the second round, the republican withdrawal must apply in all its rigor for any candidate who has put himself out of all discussions and relations with the extreme right”, he added when announcing his candidacy on June 15.
Hollande invites Mélenchon to keep quiet
If François Hollande joined the union of the left, he does not appear in phase with all the member forces of the alliance. The former head of state thus reacted to the declarations of Jean-Luc Mélenchon who said he was “ready to govern the country” on June 22 on France 5, despite the divisions that the expression of his personal political ambitions. “If I have a message to convey, it is that Jean-Luc Mélenchon (…), if he wants to be of service to the New Popular Front, he must step aside, he must be silent” launched François Hollande from his stronghold in Corrèze.
“When there is more rejection of Jean-Luc Mélenchon than of Marine Le Pen or Jordan Bardella, there is a moment when we must be aware of what the general interest is,” he added, seeming to denounce a misplaced ego of the rebellious leader. “Do we want to win the left or on the contrary do we want to create conflict?” he insisted again. Statements which changed nothing in the positions of Jean-Luc Mélenchon who, touched, also pointed out the unpopularity of François Hollande in part of the left.
Can Hollande become Prime Minister of the left?
The animosity between François Hollande and Jean-Luc Mélenchon is not unrelated to the desires of the two politicians. The leader of the rebels has not hidden his desire to settle in Matignon and François Hollande could want to return to the forefront of the political scene with these legislative elections. But the socialist risks having difficulty influencing the alliance of the New Popular Front, because although he has the support of the PS he is far from unanimous on the left.
His candidacy raises smiles in the ranks of La France insoumise, as indicated by François Ruffin, who judges the candidacy of the former head of state to be marked by “hypocrisy”. “He has all the legitimacy to present himself but in all honesty, I would have preferred that he not do so under the banner of the Popular Front because I believe that there is no real support for the orientation of the program”, explained the outgoing LFI deputy on France Bleu Limousin. He cited retirement at 60 after 40 years, the indexation of salaries to inflation or the taxation of capital as examples of divergences between the program of the New Popular Front and the policy of François Hollande when he was in office. the Elysée. Even within the PS, François Hollande divides and this was seen during the European election campaign. There is therefore little chance that the former President will be able to claim a more important role within the union of the left, in particular that of Prime Minister, even in the event of victory in the legislative elections.
What result can François Hollande hope for in the legislative elections?
Does François Hollande have any chance of winning the legislative elections in his constituency? The left did not emerge victorious from the last election in Corrèze which saw the victory of a right-wing deputy, nor from the 2017 election with the election of a majority deputy. The previous socialist victory in this territory of Corrèze dates back to 2012. And at the beginning of June, it was the National Rally list which won the European elections by far: with 32.5% of the votes against 15.2% for the PS list -Public square which came second.
During the previous legislative elections in 2022, the union of the left which was then called New Ecological and Social Popular Union (Nupes) came first in the first round. However, she lost in the second round to right-wing candidate Francis Dubois (LR). But can François Hollande, who has long been an elected official in the department, do better than the left-wing candidates who succeeded him since 2012? The politician could win thanks to his local presence or give in to a possible transfer of votes depending on the number and family of candidates present in the second round.
François Hollande supported by the presidential majority?
François Hollande is the candidate of the New Popular Front, but he will not have an opponent from the presidential majority in the 1st constituency of Corrèze. The presidential camp has chosen not to nominate candidates everywhere and to be absent from the polls in a handful of territories. “Our candidates are useful candidates against the extremes to avoid their coming to power […] There are some constituencies where we know that it would not be our candidates who will be best placed and in this case, we support another candidate” explained Gabriel Attal on the microphone of RTL on June 17. In the case of François Hollande, the majority also indicated that they had chosen not to nominate a candidate out of respect for the former President of the Republic.
But in Tulles it is not François Hollande who receives the support of the presidential majority. “The former President is a candidate in the La France Insoumise alliance, and this is not the alliance we want to see win for the country,” the Prime Minister clarified. Instead, the Renaissance coalition decided to support outgoing Republican MP Francis Dubois.