Towards an agreement between rebels, ecologists and communists before May

The left united in the first round of the legislative elections, a mirage that could become reality. While their candidates for the presidential election had categorically refused to take part in the popular Primary to appoint a single champion, rebellious France, EELV and the Communist Party have been negotiating since the evening of the first round. And an agreement could emerge within 10 days.

Both with the emissaries of the PCF and with those of EELV, “there is an agreement to place oneself in a majority perspective” in parliament in order to impose cohabitation and “send Jean-Luc Mélenchon to Matignon”, reports Manuel Bompard. , campaign director for the leader of the Insoumis. “It goes through a shared program” and “we are working on the same deadline, next weekend”, adds the chief negotiator of La France insoumise, placed in a position of strength after Jean-Luc Mélenchon’s 3rd place at the first round of the presidential election (nearly 22% of the vote).

Peace with EELV almost signed

EELV national secretary Julien Bayou says he has the same date in mind, and is ready to negotiate all weekend ahead. “We will quickly know if we see the light at the end of the tunnel, or if it is the train that is coming in front”. It seems short to iron out the differences of recent years, but “Jean-Luc Mélenchon’s score produced an electric shock”, according to him. At a meeting on Thursday, environmentalists did not object to a common label around the People’s Union. Nor to participation in an internal coalition parliament, which Jean-Luc Mélenchon had already set up for his presidential campaign.

“It will have been enough to have informal meetings to put aside the disputes”, greeted the LFI tribune at the Book Fair. “The first necessary steps have been taken, LFI no longer asks for excuses”, observes the former boss of EELV David Cormand. But he warns: environmentalists want to be respected “as partners of LFI and not a simple component of the Popular Union”. The two parties agree for the moment on a national agreement.

Program and Nominations Negotiations

On the side of the Communists, “we also carry the objective of a global agreement”, assures a framework. In case of failure, “a partial agreement will be considered”. Negotiations on the constituencies nevertheless promise to be difficult. LFI is ready for its partners to have the means to obtain a group in the National Assembly. But the track proposed by EELV to take into account the intermediate elections, like the Europeans, “was refused”, specifies Julien Bayou.

Discussions on the program of this coalition must also move forward. International and European issues, which are the subject of differences, have already been put aside for the bilateral meetings on Saturday. As for the multilateral meetings, they will wait until next week.

The PS in the waiting room

The Insoumis seem to be determined to conclude an agreement, an attitude the opposite of that of 2017. Jean-Luc Mélenchon’s ambition to be Prime Minister and to apply his program seems to be the decisive fuel. The latter wants to be reassuring, wanting to “turn the page” of the disputes on the left. “We have no interest in dominating. We have to go into the next battle as united as we can be”. He rejoiced on Friday: “The discussions are progressing well, even better than I thought”.

The Socialist Party is currently not included in the discussions. However, “we have taken an important political act and demonstrated our desire for dialogue”, breathes Pierre Jouvet, spokesperson for the party in charge of negotiations, after the vote on Tuesday evening by the National Council in favor of an alliance with LFI. Manuel Bompard assures “not to have seen at this stage any clear positions on their part” on the crucial points of the program. But Pierre Jouvet affirms that the PS is ready to engage in a discussion on the merits. For their part, ecologists and communists are campaigning for the inclusion of the PS. To be continued…

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