First there was Jean-Luc Mélenchon, on March 16, 2024. Then the former president of the Fisheries Committee in the European Parliament and member of Renaissance, Pierre Karleskind. While the European elections will take place from June 6 to 9 on the continent (Sunday 9 in France), several political figures have announced that they are registering on the lists of their respective camps in an “non-eligible” position, i.e. that is to say without any chance of being elected. “On my list, Jean-Luc Mélenchon will be present, who will be in 80th position to push and give strength to this list,” announced Manon Aubry, head of the list of La France insoumise, given around 7 or 8 % in the polls, far from the National Rally (30%).
To understand this symbolic support, we must return to the functioning of the European elections. The 81 French MEPs will be elected by direct universal suffrage in one round for a five-year mandate, according to the rules of proportional representation by list ballot with the highest average. Translation: lists which obtained more than 5% of the votes win a number of seats proportional to their number of votes. With 22 lists of around 80 candidates in the running, it is therefore impossible to consider being elected if your name is at the bottom of the list.
For Manon Aubry, the rallying of Jean-Luc Mélenchon is therefore a way of lending credibility to his candidacy, the former left-wing candidate for the 2022 presidential election having obtained 22% of the votes. Asked about this on RTL on April 12, the head of the list who won six seats in the 2019 European elections said she was “quite proud” to have “a voice that carries” within this campaign. “Seen from my position as a European deputy, there are many countries which envy us and which would like to have a Jean-Luc Mélenchon who makes the left stand up,” she declared in particular.
Possible political negotiations
But the position of ineligibility can also hide possible political dealings. While Brestois Pierre Karleskind, one of the first to slam the door of the PS to join the ranks of La République en Marche, said he was “up for a second mandate” as a European deputy last January, he was ultimately in 30th position on the Renaissance list, led by Valérie Hayer. A professional oceanographer, his knowledge of the maritime environment and his work force seemed to present assets to support the presidential camp, recalls West France. “It would in fact pay the price for a strong presence of the MoDem, the party of François Bayrou, in the first places of the list”, as well as the party of Edouard Philippe, Horizons, whose candidate Nathalie Loiseau appears in fifth place, specifies the daily.
On X, however, Pierre Karleskind saved face. “A convinced activist and fan of Valérie Hayer, I wanted to be able to give my full support to the Need for Europe list by appearing in 30th position,” he commented in particular, after having mentioned a “mission news” entrusted by the president himself for after the European elections.
Before his name, the majority’s list includes those of Bernard Guetta and Pascal Canfin, the president of the environment committee in the European Parliament, and that of Gilles Boyer, former special advisor to Edouard Philippe. With 16.5% of voting intentions, Valérie Hayer’s list has seen a slight increase in recent days.