Little known to the general public, 28-year-old Amiens Léon Deffontaines has been named head of the French Communist Party’s list for the 2024 European elections.
At 28, Léon Deffontaines is the head of the list of French Communist Party (PCF) for the next European elections. Born in Amiens (Somme), son of a florist and a psychologist, he joined the Young Communist Movement of France in 2013. In 2014, he was a candidate in 17th position in the municipal elections in Amiens on the list Workers’ struggle. After studying law and political science, as well as educational science, his political career took off in 2019 when he was elected secretary general of the Young Communist Movement of France. During the 2022 presidential election, he was appointed spokesperson for Fabien Roussel, the communist candidate. On July 1, 2023, Léon Deffontaines was designated leader of the communists for the 2024 European elections.
Fabien Roussel’s foal
With a rather discreet temperament, Léon Deffontaines is presented as a “baby Roussel”. And he intends to “stick to the coattails” of the communist leader until the vote, without remaining in the shadows. Described as “hardworking, methodical and energetic”, the Amiens resident is now preparing to try to fill the public meeting rooms. Still little known to the general public, its objective will be to obtain at least 5% of the votes in the European elections, the threshold required to have elected representatives in Parliament. He says he wants to “take advantage of Fabien Roussel’s notoriety”, support which should not be too much in the face of the four separate lists presented by Nupes.
“Purchasing power, peace, environment”
“We want to breathe new life into it,” indicated Ian Brossart, spokesperson for the PCF last September. A way for the party leadership to refresh the image of a rather aging political family. A new breath therefore, to carry a clear line: defend social progress and public services, promote employment, training, ecology, feminism and fight against all forms of discrimination.
“Purchasing power, peace, environment” indicates the young communist, determined to make a place for himself in politics. “I want to speak to the left about labor, to a part of the population to whom the left no longer speaks,” he explains. No doubt, Léon Deffontaines is following in the footsteps of his mentor, Fabien Roussel, who knows his son well: “like me, he had a childhood influenced by social issues” he says, in reference to the struggle of the employees of the he Goodyear company which imbued the young Léon Deffontaines with the history of his hometown, Amiens.
Blocking the National Rally
One of its main objectives remains to campaign against National gathering and block Jordan Bardella, head of the RN list in the European elections. “The far right is a priority. I want to show all their contradictions and deconstruct this myth of the RN which speaks to the working classes” he indicated last year.
One thing is certain, he will have a hard time facing the president of the RN who is progressing week after week in the opinion polls among supporters of the National Rally, but not only that. As the election approaches, according to the latest poll Ifop, The National Rally list led by Jordan Bardella tops the voting intentions (28% to 30%), with more than 10 points ahead of the presidential majority. Léon Deffontaines is credited with 3% to 5% of the votes.