Head of the French Communist Party’s list for the 2024 European elections, the discreet disciple of Fabien Roussel intends to bring the PCF back to the European Parliament.
At 27, Léon Deffontaines has become, in the shadow of its president Fabien Roussel, one of the faces of the future of the French Communist Party. The one who presents himself to Echoes as a “baby Roussel” was designated on November 13, 2023, during the Fête de l’Humanité, head of the PCF list for the European elections in June 2024. If Léon Deffontaines is unknown to the general public, he benefits from the popularity of his mentor, the French’s favorite left-wing personality according to polls, as Les Echos recalls. He intends to “stick to Fabien Roussel’s coattails” until the elections, as he tells France Info.
Originally from Amiens, Léon Deffontaines makes it a point to clarify in each interview that, unlike Emmanuel Macron and François Ruffin, also from Amiens, he attended public school, located just opposite the Jesuit La Providence high school attended by the other two. According to him, the road which separates the two establishments “is a real social border, on both sides, it is not the same world”, as he explains to Les Echos.
Coming from a working-class neighborhood, his childhood was marked by the demonstrations of employees of the Goodyear factory fighting against the closure of the site. Although his family was not “politicized”, with a psychologist mother and a florist father who were also left-wing, his political involvement began early. Aged 17, he got involved with the Lutte Ouvrière during the municipal elections in Amiens.
Far from counting his hours, Léon Deffontaines studied political science and then educational science alongside work that allowed him to finance everything. Among these “30 hours a week” as he explains to Les Echos, he gradually climbed the ranks within the Communist Party. He is notably at the origin of the development of the party which, according to him, went from 500 to 4000 members and opened several local branches. This is how he becomes the spokesperson for Fabien Roussel in 2022 then for the PCF in 2023.
What is the PCF’s program for the 2024 European elections?
Proximity and the desire to stand out are at the heart of the PCF leader’s program for the European elections. Proud to represent his party, he is determined to emphasize the differences that separate him from the rest of the left, in particular from LFI. At the European level, the PCF intends to denounce “austerity treaties” and “liberal Europe” while also opposing the enlargement of the EU. It also intends to support projects of “environmental interest” and bring European issues closer to the daily lives of the French. The candidate’s slogans are: “purchasing power, peace, environment”, as he summarizes in Les Echos.
For the European elections, the PCF is putting forward 3 strong proposals: “Index wages to inflation; Exit the European energy market to lower bills; Impose equal pay between women and men”.
Banking on their age and their similar background, Leon Deffontaine wishes to stand as a rival against the candidate of the National Rally, Jordan Bardella. The two leaders claim to address “peripheral France” and “territorial France”, each in their own way. Despite the considerable difference in notoriety, Léon Deffontaines wishes to “create a duel” with the head of the RN list, as he announced to France Info.
What are the poll results for Léon Deffontaines?
Despite Mr. Deffontaines’ ambitions to compete with the RN, which is well ahead of the polls with 28.5% of voting intentions as of February 28, as the site indicates All Europe.eu, the PCF is quite far behind. The French Communist Party recorded around 3% of voting intentions on the same date. A drop of half compared to May 2023 when the party collected 5%. It was in December 2023 that voting intentions fell to around 3% and then stagnated. The PCF is therefore well behind other left-wing political parties such as LFI, the PS and EELV which are between 8% and 10% in the polls.