The quarrel between François Ruffin and Jean-Luc Mélenchon is well and truly over. The outgoing MP, one of the candidates for the post of Prime Minister in the event of a victory for the left in the legislative elections, estimated Tuesday that the leader of La France insoumise was an “obstacle to the victory of the Popular Front”.
“It’s not support here for Jean-Luc Mélenchon, it’s rather something that repels voters,” said François Ruffin on TF1 from his Somme constituency, where he is trying to get re-elected despite the very good scores. from the National Rally to the last European elections.
An attack against Mélenchon’s media presence
“It would be good if the leaders of La France insoumise were here,” he added, recalling the candidacy of the leader of LFI in Hénin-Beaumont, against Marine Le Pen, during the 2012 legislative elections. Jean-Luc Mélenchon “goes on TV every two days to tell himself that he is withdrawing, it’s not so much a withdrawal,” François Ruffin also quipped.
The break between the two men – François Ruffin having long been seen as a potential successor to Jean-Luc Mélenchon in the incarnation of the radical left – has been clear since the “purge” of the LFI “rebels”.
A leader who crystallizes attacks
Jean-Luc Mélenchon must face numerous criticisms from within his own camp and his allies during the legislative campaign. At the New Popular Front, the socialists, communists and Ecologists want the founder of La France insoumise to be removed, considered too divisive by many, even on the left.
The three-time presidential candidate, with his 22% in 2022, is content for the moment to say that he is not “eliminating” himself but is not “obtaining” himself for the post of Prime Minister either, in the event of a victory for the left on July 7.