Olivier Faure in pole position. The orientation text of the outgoing First Secretary of the PS came first Thursday evening in the vote of socialist activists, ahead of that of Nicolas Mayer-Rossignol, which places the two men in a duel to run for the head of the party in a week, before a congress at the end of January in Marseille.
Uncertainty remained overnight from Thursday to Friday to confirm whether Olivier Faure had passed the 50% mark, which his relatives claimed, which would ensure him the majority in the bodies of the Socialist Party, and would validate his strategy of alliance of the left within Nupes.
Take nearly 50%
According to an official party source, Olivier Faure had at least 50.5% of the vote at 11:30 p.m., out of 14,000 voters (about two thirds of potential voters), but his rival said for his part that according to his estimates, Olivier Faure does not obtain than around 48%.
In a tweet, Olivier Faure thanked those who placed him “very largely in the lead”, believing that “activists have clearly chosen the union of the left and environmentalists”.
Nicolas Mayer-Rossignol comes in second place with 31.5% according to him (30.5% according to his rival), ensuring “that at this time, the outgoing management is no longer in the majority”. The third candidate, Hélène Geoffroy, the mayor of Vaulx-en-Velin, would be between 19% and 21% depending on the sources. The final results should be known on Friday.
During a press briefing, Nicolas Mayer-Rossignol affirmed that the momentum was in his favor and “possible hope”, because there had been “no plebiscite for Olivier Faure”. Nicolas Mayer-Rossignol repeated that he was the only one who could bring together all the socialists, half of whom, according to him, did not vote in the first round. He hopes in particular to recover the votes of the voters of Hélène Geoffroy, very hostile to Faure.
Scrutinized voting
Artisan, for his party, of the Nupes agreement concluded in May for the legislative elections between LFI, the PS, EELV and the PCF, Olivier Faure plays in this vote his position but also the future of the union, criticized by his two rivals.
In total some 41,000 members could vote for this first round, between 5 p.m. and 10 p.m. in the local sections. But the vote of the 300 socialists from abroad, the only ones to go through an electronic ballot started on Wednesday, was canceled Thursday morning after “a malicious act”, according to management.
If the Nupes agreement made it possible to keep a group of 32 socialist deputies in the National Assembly, despite the historic failure in the presidential election of candidate Anne Hidalgo (1.7%), it also deeply divided the PS, leading to departures and dissidence in the legislative elections.
For Olivier Faure, it is necessary to choose between “the gathering without exception with the whole left”, and therefore with LFI, or “the withdrawal into oneself”. The deputy of Seine-et-Marne, who has the support of many mayors and 45 socialist parliamentarians, does not hide his wish for a common candidate from the left in 2027.