Jean-Luc Mélenchon could be a candidate in Marseille during the 2024 legislative elections. Is he a potential Prime Minister in the event of a victory for the Popular Front? For now, the rebellious is playing collective.
Will Jean-Luc Mélenchon return to the Assembly? According to Release, the former deputy for the 4th constituency of Bouches-du-Rhône would consider running for a new mandate in the 2024 legislative elections in Marseille. But Jean-Luc Mélenchon would not try to recover the place he left to his faithful friend Manuel Bompard in 2022. He would rather target a neighboring constituency, the 5th of Bouches-du-Rhône.
Except that this constituency is that of another rebellious outgoing MP, Hendrik Davi. Certainly, the understanding is not good between this deputy and the management of La France insoumise. but Hendrik Davi is firmly determined to maintain his candidacy: he has also received the support of several dozen local activists of all shades of the left. Another threat in the event of Mélenchon’s candidacy: the mayor of Marseille, the former socialist Benoît Payan, could decide to run against him, according to Release, which would cause a division of votes on the left.
Prime Minister ?
Jean-Luc Mélenchon in Matignon? The former MP does not make this ambition a secret. “I feel capable of it,” he declared Wednesday evening on the France 2 news. However, he admits that “the atmosphere” has changed compared to the 2022 legislative elections, where the left had campaigned with the slogan “Mélenchon Prime Minister”. Since then, the socialists have come ahead of the rebels in the European elections.
Jean-Luc Mélenchon therefore plays the dialogue card. “We are going to stick to the formula proposed by Olivier Faure which is to say: it is the most important parliamentary group which proposes”, he affirms. “There has to be a discussion. To propose does not mean to impose”, insists the rebel, adding: “We have in our ranks what to do, so I am not eliminating myself, but I am not don’t impose.” As a token of goodwill, Jean-Luc Mélenchon declined an invitation to debate with Gabriel Attal and Jordan Bardella, arguing that “the New Popular Front has not yet nominated its prime minister candidate”.
“In the end, it will not be Jean-Luc Mélenchon,” insists Raphaël Glucksmann this Friday 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. In the rebel camp itself, other personalities, such as François Ruffin and Clémentine Autain, have also said they are ready to take on this role.