The Nupes is 1 year old, but not all her teeth. You will say to us: “At only 1 year old, what could be more normal? “. And that’s true. At this age, teeth are still growing, and as everyone knows, it is painful. The members of the New People’s Ecological and Social Union were also able to see this on Tuesday evening. On May 2, the leaders of the five parties (LFI, PS, EELV, PCF and Generations) met in a restaurant near the Gare de l’Est.
For some, the rendezvous was nothing more than the usual quasi-weekly meeting of the Nupes parties. It was without counting on Jean-Luc Mélenchon – not among the guests – who made it an issue, speaking of a “summit meeting” to move forward on the famous “act II” of the union from the left. One way, at least, to put pressure on the allies, so irritated at LFI to see the deepening of the alliance taking so long to materialize.
Cannonball, straitjacket, failure
The least we can say is that it didn’t work. According to information from 20 minutes, who was able to speak with seven of the eighteen people present around the table on Tuesday evening, the discussions were “very lively, to say the least”; “frank, sincere”, according to Marine Tondelier, national secretary of EELV. Only the communist guests did not respond to our calls, and that is important: “When Fabien Roussel said, from his first speech, that the Nupes was a ball, a straight jacket and a failure, it immediately posed things,” described one participant. The Communists have visibly blocked almost everything, even the idea of a joint presidential candidacy in 2027.
Around the table, the tone was surprising: never had the questioning of Nupes been so strong: “We all looked at each other a little wondering what they were still doing there. The taboo of the possible departure of a member of Nupes has not been lifted, but this possibility is now in everyone’s mind. “At some point, there will be a principle of reality,” said a rebellious.
Until now, this formula was used to say that the political situation imposed union on all. From now on, it is to say that at some point, in fact, the Communists will perhaps be out of the alliance. On the PCF side, precisely, we relativize with our colleagues from Release : “La Nupes is as much a prospect if we win as a burden if we don’t. »
grumpy grandpa
But according to several participants, the evening was not summarized with a “four against one”. “It’s caricatural”, eludes one. “It would be a mistake to see him like that,” says a rebel. Because the other big point of contention of the evening was the question of the strategy for the Europeans of 2024. LFI wants a single list of Nupes, not EELV. Marine Tondelier defended her separatist strategy: “She said it very very very clearly,” described a participant. Another: “She pushed the cursor very far. “On the green side, we insist that a coalition is not a marriage in which we agree on everything, and we insist on “the enormous compromise” made by accepting the principle of a single candidate in 2027 , and not necessarily green.
Annoyed, the rebellious do not spare Marine Tondelier and EELV. But they are careful not to put them in the same bag as the communists. “The PCF is on a position of its own, that is to say agree on nothing beyond support for the social movement. Ecologists agree on a certain number of things, but not the Europeans”, distinguishes a member of LFI. “It suits us that Fabien Roussel has the role of the grumpy grandpa, which allows the others not to go head-on against Jean-Luc Mélenchon”, recognized a socialist present on Tuesday evening several weeks ago. Clearly: in the eyes of the rebellious, as long as the Communists are horrible, if the Socialists and the Ecologists are just boring, still passes.
“There is work”
But it works up to a point. So that on the PS, EELV and Generations side, we put the events of Tuesday evening into perspective. First, everyone recalls that union is still a very strong demand from the left-wing electorate: “We are actively working on a path of hope and victories”, assures Marine Tondelier. Then everyone recalls the context: “The current social movement forces us to be a political outlet for all this anger”, judges the president of the young socialists, Emma Rafowicz, present at the meeting. And everyone repeats that without a left alternative, the other alternative to the current power is the extreme right. This threat has often been a powerful vehicle for uniting the left.
“This meeting was a stepping stone, minimizes Emma Rafowicz. We make a lot of it because Jean-Luc Mélenchon talked about it, but we were still generally aware of the potential differences. “Decidedly very optimistic, the leader of the young socialists found “reassuring” the fact that the tone of the debates was “frank, even harsh”. Because “when there is jargon, it’s because we’re not among friends. It’s a good sign that it’s hard. It is not simple, but positive. “The always very zen and very pro union Arash Saeidi, co-coordinator of Génération, “saw coming” the difficulties: “There is work but we have time. We are not in May 2022, where we were in a hurry. It doesn’t matter if you haven’t produced an Act II after three hours! “We’re three years old!” “, abounds another.
Basically, nothing of what was said on Tuesday evening is very new. However, the next day, we could feel some rebels a little more affected than usual, as if they had taken a blow in the back of the head. In any case, they seemed surprised by the turn of a “frustrating” meeting. An admission of weakness that does not really look like them.
Did they hear their allies? Or does the way they told the story of this meeting contribute to the dramatization of the situation, a new way of putting pressure on the partners to maintain the alliance? One thing is certain, everyone has agreed to continue to talk to each other and see each other again: union is a long-term task, and a combat sport.