Left-wing coalition puts a check on Macron
Deal forged in ‘historic moment’ poses threat to president’s hopes of parliamentary majority
A NEW Left-wing political coalition has been forged in a blow to Emmanuel Macron’s chances of winning a parliamentary majority at next month’s election.
The coalition between the Green Party and La France Insoumise (LFI), led by Jean-luc Melénchon who came third in the presidential race, which they described as a “historic moment” was announced yesterday.
The deal will hamper the newlyelected president’s ability to push through his pro-eu legislative agenda with the coalition citing a willingness to “disobey European rules”, as one of their priorities.
The coalition is seeking to win a majority of seats in parliament during next month’s elections in order to rob Mr Macron of a majority and to compel him to appoint Mr Melénchon as prime minister, which he would be required to do under French constitutional rules.
A Harris Interactive poll last week showed a united Left winning 33 per cent of votes, the same as an alliance of Macron’s party and the conservatives under the two-round system.
“It’s an exceptional agreement,” said Julien Bayou, the national secretary of the Green party. “It’s for the French to make it a historical agreement by winning a majority [of parliamentary seats].”
Mr Melénchon won 21 per cent of votes, coming third behind Marine Le Pen and Mr Macron.
Yannick Jadot of the Greens secured just 4 per cent of votes but many green voters reported tactically voting for Mr Melénchon because he stood a higher chance of progressing to the run-off vote.
The parties agreed to run under the banner of a “new popular, ecological and social union”. To face candidates from the Right-wing RN, helmed by Marine Le Pen, and Reconquête, the party of Eric Zemmour, who scored 23 per cent and 7 per cent in the presidential election respectively.
Jean-luc Melénchon tweeted on Sunday: “Can we disobey European rules to apply certain measures of our programme? Of course [we can], everyone disobeys European rules, the Germans for example or the Danes.”
In Melénchon’s deal with the Greens, the two parties said that, even if they agreed France should not exit the EU or abandon the euro, they were “ready to disobey European rules”, including on budgets and competition issues.
Mr Melénchon served as a Socialist minister in the early 2000s but broke from the party in 2008 after failing to dilute its pro-eu stance. He also wants France to leave Nato.
LFI cited the EU’S common agricultural policy and competition laws as “obstacles” that needed to be overcome, in a statement yesterday. The Left-wing coalition also said that it would set the monthly minimum wage at €1,400 and lower the age of retirement to 60. President Macron had raised the retirement age to 65 during his first term and promised during his presidential campaign to lower it to 64.
In a sign that Mr Macron’s allies were taking the threat from the Left seriously, his lieutenants went on the attack yesterday.
“Selling yourself to France Insoumise, a Europhobic and nationalist party, in exchange for a few constituencies says it all about the ideological collapse of the Greens,” Pieyre-alexandre Anglade, a lawmaker in Macron’s party, tweeted.