In the National Assembly,
“Well, I suppose you want us to talk about Nupes again…” Alas, PS deputy Arthur Delaporte tries a note of humor this Tuesday morning, when launching his press conference. Because every week, the question of the survival of the left coalition is raised.
This time, it was Danièle Obono who put the finishing touches. Questioned several times on Sud Radio on the definition she gave of Hamas, the rebellious MP indicated that it was “a resistance movement, which defines itself as such”, once again refuting its “terrorist” character, despite the attacks in Israel ago. ten days Enough to rekindle the controversies and further shake the fragile alliance concocted by Jean-Luc Mélenchon in the spring of 2022.
“I’m angry”
As they are now accustomed to, it was first on X (formerly Twitter) that left-wing leaders settled their scores. “Abject complacency!” », reacted to Yannick Jadot, the former environmentalist presidential candidate. “Now the implicitly transparent becomes repulsively explicit,” added PS deputy Jérôme Guedj. “The left is not that. The NUPES program is not that. These scandalous statements make our positions on the ceasefire, on the siege of Gaza, and the two-state solution invisible and inaudible. I’m furious,” railed the boss of the PS, Olivier Faure.
At the end of the morning, Danièle Obono quickly sent a press release to try to put out the fire, without really changing line. “Enough manipulation!” I said that Hamas was an Islamist political group which declares its action to be part of the resistance to the occupation of Palestine.” In vain. The Minister of the Interior, Gérald Darmanin, announced at the same time that he was referring the matter to the public prosecutor “for advocating terrorism”. A little later, during questions to the government, Elisabeth Borne condemned these comments: “The courts are seized, they will decide. For me, you exclude yourself from the Republican field.”
“If Mélenchon loves the left, he must step aside”
In the aisles of the Assembly, the socialist allies grimace, refocusing their criticism against the boss of La France insoumise and his hold on Nupes, following the arrow fired earlier during the day by Olivier Faure. “If Mélenchon loves the left, he must step aside and leave those who are responsible. He is no longer a deputy, let us build an alternative,” says Christine Pires-Beaune, MP and spokesperson for the PS group, while tension has continued to rise between the two parties for several days.
“We have disagreements, we do not deny them. What happened is intolerable. There were unacceptable comments from Jean-Luc Mélenchon and his entourage. When we refuse to say that a terrorist organization is terrorist, it is not possible,” adds his colleague Arthur Delaporte, confirming that PS elected officials should establish a “moratorium” on their participation in the intergroup. Already on Sunday, the Communist Party voted for a resolution noting the “impasse” of the Nupes, calling for it to “turn the page”.
A little further on, Eric Coquerel is annoyed by the procrastination of his allies. “What is a moratorium? It’s a break, at least temporary, right? », sighs the rebellious president of the Finance Commission. “Behind the attacks against Jean-Luc, some are actually taking advantage of them to put an end to the Nupes, because they have never accepted that the left comes together on a program of rupture.” Same tone with Mathilde Panot: “The PS is using a pretext to try to break away on international issues. I think it’s outrageous.”
The rebels pretend to forget that criticism is also being heard within their own ranks. “Last December, Jean-Luc Mélenchon had the choice to help do better, as he invited us to do after the presidential election, or to harm. I must note that he has only done harm for ten months,” LFI MP Raquel Garrido dared on Sunday. In Le Figaro. Is this tackle – unprecedented internally – a sign of a coming upheaval on the left, or the umpteenth episode in a never-ending series? So far, Nupes has shown itself to be a reed that bends, but does not break.