They intend to embody “the last line of resistance”. The Insoumis officially launched this Saturday March 16, from the Villepinte exhibition center (Seine-Saint-Denis), their campaign for the European elections which will take place in June. “It’s the post-Macron era that begins now,” launched Manuel Bompard, the coordinator of LFI, in front of several thousand – 3,000 according to the organizers – of activists, flags in hand and chanting “Popular Union”, the slogan of the radical left movement.
A little earlier, at 1 p.m. on TF1, the rebellious head of the list Manon Aubry also estimated that “the issue posed by this June 9 election, in reality, is the post-Macron era”. The MEP also formalized, unsurprisingly, the symbolic presence of Jean-Luc Mélenchon on her list, in penultimate place. “This is not a European election, it is the first round of the 2027 presidential election. It is you who choose who you give a head start to,” warned on Thursday evening, in front of a crowd of students at the Nanterre faculty, the rebellious tribune, who will close this “popular Union convention” with Manon Aubry.
And if the campaign for 2027 begins now, the union of the left seems very compromised. “We embody, sometimes quite alone, the last line of resistance,” proclaimed Manuel Bompard, castigating the “irresponsibility of those who chose division” for Europeans, to the jeers of activists. Huguette Bello, president of the regional council of Reunion whose presence in last place on the list was announced this Saturday, sees in LFI “the true left, the one which has not betrayed the working classes, the authentic left”.
First place on the left?
While the idea defended by LFI of a common list for the ballot has collapsed – the Insoumis had even proposed its head to the Ecologist Marie Toussaint – the four main left-wing lists are competing for a market share of around 30 %. The rebels know that Jean-Luc Mélenchon’s score in the last presidential election – 22% – is unattainable. Traditionally, European elections are not their favorite election: in 2019, the list led by Manon Aubry, a neophyte at the time, finished with 6.31% of the votes. However, with a few thousand votes ahead of Raphaël Glucksmann who, this time, is ahead of the Ecologists and the Rebels in the polls. Nevertheless, Manon Aubry has the ambition to take first place on the left, with a score of 10%, while in the various polls, her list is given around 7 or 8%.
To mobilize its troops during the campaign, LFI intends in particular to emphasize the situation in Gaza – Manon Aubry made a point of mentioning “the ongoing humanitarian carnage” at the conclusion of the first European debate on Thursday on Public Senate. The name of the Franco-Palestinian activist Rima Hassan, present in 7th place on the list, was given a standing ovation this Saturday by the activists. “We are fighting today so that the Palestinian people can live on their land, freed from the colonial yoke,” Huguette Bello also said during her speech.
La France insoumise unveiled its campaign slogan on Friday – “Give us the strength to change everything” – and its campaign poster: a somewhat Hollywood style with the large face of Manon Aubry, surrounded by her main running mates and rebellious figures , on a multicolored background. “The inspiration is that of the great superhero films which unite to fight against evil (Avengers, Star Wars, Dune, etc.)”, explains the party.
In addition to Jean-Luc Mélenchon, Mathilde Panot and Manuel Bompard, we find the first eight candidates on the list. Among them, the former coordinator of Generation. s Arash Saeidi and MEP Damien Carême (ex-EELV), the “war prizes” of the Insoumis for this election. After a symbolic vote by activists, the nomination of Manon Aubry as head of the list was made official this Saturday.