9:02 p.m., Sunday June 9. France falls into a dizzying unknown, after the presidential announcement of the dissolution of the National Assembly. Since then, each day has had its share of surprises. This Saturday, June 15, the shadow of Jean-Luc Mélenchon hangs more than ever over the stability of the union of the left. The choices of the LFI candidates have created numerous misunderstandings in the ranks, accusing the management of “purge”. Meanwhile, thousands of people marched in several cities in France to say no to the far right in power.
The surprise of the day: François Hollande candidate
This is not a first under the Fifth Republic. Nevertheless: the information was surprising. Former President François Hollande announced his candidacy in the first constituency of Corrèze, this Saturday, June 16, thus marking his return to political life, according to information from the newspaper The mountain quickly confirmed. He will be a candidate under the banner of the New Popular Front. “In an exceptional situation, an exceptional decision,” declared to the press, from Tulle, the former head of state, who was already a French deputy between 1997 and 2012. His constituency had initially been allocated by the general staff socialist to the mayor of Tulle, Bernard Combes. But the Corrèze federation announced that it would invest the former president, leaving the PS no other choice than to “take note” of this decision.
Before him, Valéry Giscard d’Estaing returned to the benches of the National Assembly after leaving the Elysée in 1981. Questioned by BFMTVthe Minister of Justice, Eric Dupont Moretti, considered this candidacy “pathetic” and urged the former president to ally himself with Philippe Poutou, of the NPA, newly invested under the banner of the New Popular Front.
The controversy of the day: LFI weakens the union
The union of the left, which until now had not experienced as many tragedies as the right, experienced its first upheavals last night. While candidacies in the 577 constituencies must be submitted before Sunday, 6 p.m., La France Insoumise, a stakeholder in the union, has begun a “purge” within its members. Historical figures of the movement, such as Alexis Corbière, Raquel Garrido and Danielle Simonnet, were not reinvested in their constituencies of Seine-Saint-Denis and Paris, being considered as rebels of the Mélenchonist line.
“Jean-Luc Mélenchon has settled scores with me and my friends,” lamented Alexis Corbière on Franceinfo this morning. “An emancipatory political party does not work like a private company where the boss fires you because he can no longer supervise you,” thundered the man who has long been a traveling companion of Jean-Luc Mélenchon, criticizing this behavior. petty” and “small”.
At the same time, the deputy from the North, Adrien Quatennens, sentenced to four months in prison for domestic violence, was reinvested by the LFI. Enough to annoy François Ruffin, carrier of a dissident current within the radical left party and candidate for re-election in the Somme. “You prefer a man who hits his wife, perpetrator of domestic violence, to comrades who have the impudence to have a disagreement with the great leader. Our democracy deserves better than you,” he wrote on.
The mobilization of the day: thousands of anti-RN demonstrators
From Bayonne to Nice, via Marseille, Nantes, Vannes, Reims and even Puy-en-Velay, anti-RN France mobilized this Saturday afternoon against the prospect of a victory for the far right to the legislative elections. In total, 98 gatherings were recorded, according to a police source at AFP. Invested by certain figures of the left, in Paris by members of the LFI, the mobilization was initially called by five unions: CFDT, CGT, UNSA, FSU and Solidaires. According to initial figures from the CGT, 640,000 people demonstrated in France, including 250,000 in Paris. The police headquarters reported 75,000 demonstrators in Paris. Four people have been arrested “at this stage”, she said.
The big story of the day: the secret history of the New Popular Front
When Emmanuel Macron announced the dissolution of the National Assembly last Sunday, nothing was decided on the left, especially nothing was won for a union. The last, called Nupes, quickly fell into disuse in the face of the well-established positions of both parties. However, in the space of four days, the left forces of the PS with Place Publique, France Insoumise, the Ecologists and the Communist Party managed to reach an agreement, after hours of traction. From the desertion of environmentalists to the battle over the program, our journalist Olivier Peru tells you how the left managed to come to an agreement to form a new union.
Video of the day: the six scenarios for post-legislative elections
The replay of the 577 seats in the National Assembly will determine the political future of the country. L’Express has imagined six scenarios.
Today’s poll: the RN in the lead
Two weeks before the first round of voting in these early legislative elections, the National Rally led by Jordan Bardella is in the lead. According to the new Legitrack barometer from OpinionWay – Vae Solis for The echoes, the far-right party is credited with 33% of the votes, followed by the Popular Front with 25% and the presidential majority and its Renaissance party, with 20%. Mobilized by crises and other betrayals, the Republicans are struggling to take off (7%). Reconquest, abandoned by some of its executives, barely reached 3%.