The former president believes that a victory for outgoing first secretary Olivier Faure, champion of the alliance with La France insoumise, would be “unfortunate”. Consequently, François Hollande announced on Monday that he would vote Nicolas Mayer-Rossignol to lead the Socialist Party. “I will vote Mayer-Rossignol,” said the former President of the Republic on France Inter.
“He seems to me to be the one who can bring the socialists together and, while being attached to the union of the left, ensure that the Socialist Party exists,” he added. The former socialist president (2012-2017) is considered close to the line of the mayor of Vaulx-en-Velin Hélène Geoffroy, who leads the revolt against the participation of the PS in the New Popular, Ecological and Social Union (Nupes ) dominated by the movement of Jean-Luc Mélenchon.
“Talk about a performance! »
But the orientation text of Hélène Geoffroy came third for the Party Congress at the end of January, with 20.34% of the votes of the members, behind those of Olivier Faure (49.15%) and Nicolas Mayer-Rossignol (30.51%). The latter two will compete for the post of first secretary on Thursday in a second round. Asked about the first place of the current boss of the PS, François Hollande, who left the Elysée in 2017, replied: “I do not salute this performance”.
“Five years ago, the Socialist Party had about 80,000 members, today it’s half”; “out of the 40,000, half came to vote”; “out of the 20,000, half of them came to vote, barely, for Olivier Faure. Talk about a performance! “, he quipped. “I think Nicolas Mayer-Rossignol can win,” he insisted. If he did not succeed, it would be “quite unfortunate”, he said, while assuring that it was necessary “always to respect the verdict of the vote”.