The former head of state gave an interview to L’Express. He believes that the social democratic left can once again become a governing force.
Where is the left in France in 2024? François Hollande, interviewed in L’Express this Thursday January 25, gives his feelings, between the lines, on the future of the socialists. According to him, the grouping formed around Jean-Luc Mélenchon is coming to an end, in a final breathlessness. And considers that the reaction following the October 7 attacks in Israel marked a new stage. “By refusing to properly qualify Hamas, LFI caused the breakup of Nupes. This is a first clarification,” he believes. The former head of state, who was at the helm of the Socialist Party a decade before accessing the Elysée, adds: “The change of government by consecrating the right-wing of the five-year term already observed with the immigration law is a second . A space opens up for the reformist left if it broadens and organizes itself.
François Hollande already sees milestones for this left which he thinks can once again access responsibilities: “I hope that Raphaël Glucksmann’s score in the European elections is as high as possible, both to send the most social democratic deputies to the European Parliament and to take action the day after the election to bring together the entire left of government.
The results of these elections will also provide lessons on the rise of the extreme right in France. “The fight against extremism and populism therefore requires restoring confidence in the republican school, respect for work, its meaning and its remuneration, and territorial cohesion first and foremost through equal access to health. The populist vote is a vote of despair, of separation and a vote of revenge against an arrogant system. Hence the challenge of democracy so that it speaks for everyone,” analyzes François Hollande, who adds that in France, Marine Le Pen’s party was nourished by the collapse of traditional parties, with the centrist implosion embodied by the personal adventure of Emmanuel Macron.
“The RN is the only party to be organized “as before”, in the old world,” underlines the former president. “What are the others? They are attracted by the most radical, on the right and on the left. How many members are there left of LR, the socialists, the ecologists, or of Renaissance? When there are no has more attractive parties, organized forces, announcing ideas and programs likely to appear as credible alternations, then populism fills the void with simplifying formulas, as on agriculture today”, regrets he.