French elections: The left alliance shows unity as it calls to retain ‘cordon sanitaire’

4 months ago 19

With the far-right Rassemblement national (RN) achieving a historic score in the first round of France’s snap parliamentary elections on Sunday (June 30), the second-place left coalition ‘Front populaire’ (NFP) called for unity against the far-right in the second round.

According to first exit polls, Jordan Bardella’s RN emerged victorious from the first round of legislative elections, posting a record score of 34%.

The left alliance NFP, which brings together La France Insoumise (LFI), the Socialist Party (PS), the Greens and the French Communist Party (PCF), came second with 28.1% of the vote.

French president Emmanuel Macron’s party Ensemble came third with a score of 20.3%.

Following the announcement of the results, the NFP’s political leaders unanimously called to retain a ‘cordon sanitaire’ against the RN in the second round of the legislative elections next Sunday (7 July), allaying fears of a post-election divided left.

“Not one more vote, not one more seat for the RN,” said LFI’s leader Jean-Luc Mélenchon at the party’s Paris HQ. “Our instructions are clear, our instructions are simple”, he continued.

In the event of a triangular election, i.e. if an NFP candidate came third, and an RN candidate came first, “we will withdraw our candidacy, wherever that may be, under all circumstances”, he insisted.

Olivier Faure, First Secretary of the French Socialist Party, adopted the same strategy: “The position of the Socialists is extremely clear: there will be no candidate maintained in any place where there is a risk of a far-right candidate being elected. There will be no exceptions.”

Green National Secretary Marine Tondelier called for the “construction of a new republican front” in the second round, directly challenging Macron’s party.

Tondelier then called on “centrist political leaders” to “withdraw if [they are] third in triangular elections, and if [they do] not qualify for the second round, to call to vote for a candidate who defends republican values”.

French MEP Raphaël Glucksmann’s party Place publique, which campaigned under the NFP banner, agreed. “The far right is on the doorstep of power, and we must assume our responsibilities,” wrote the party in a press release, calling on its candidates to withdraw in the event of a three-way tie.

Following the speeches in their respective headquarters, the left-wing leaders are due to give a joint speech at the Place de la République in central Paris.

[Edited by Chris Powers]