The 2017 presidential election completely changed the political landscape of France. For the first time since 1958, neither of the two major parties went to the second round: Conservative François Fillon received about 20% of the vote, Socialist Benoit Hamon 6.4%. Five years later, polls estimate that two formations will be seen by halving these results: forecasts give 2.5% to Anna Hidalgo (Socialist Party) and less than 10% to Valerie Pekres (Republicans).
The recent presidential election reflected the French’s alienation from the guerrilla world, a trend that has continued to grow in recent years. Polls show growing dissatisfaction among parties and voters who no longer see the ability to solve key problems in political formations. The big beneficiary was President Emmanuel Macron, who was able to restore issues, votes and support from both sides of the political spectrum. Last week, he received the Socialist François Rebsamen, the mayor of Dijon and former Minister of Labor. Shortly before, he was voted in by former Prime Minister Nicolas Sarkozy, Eric Woert.
Last Saturday, Macron specifically addressed progressive voters at his large rally in the La Défense district of Paris. He even used the slogan of the New Anti-Capitalist Party (NPA), “Their lives are worth more than all the profits”, in connection with the scandal of neglect and mistreatment in private nursing homes revealed by a journalistic investigation. In the same speech, Macron rebuked “large private groups that want to make decisions instead of nations,” warned of an “imbalance of capitalism” and went so far as to point to the “system” as his opponent. “The system will come and tell us that this is impossible and we will do it.
One day later, the Socialist candidate gathered about 2,400 followers at the Cirque d’Hiver in Paris, the historic theater located in Place de la République and in the middle of the Bastille. “We are on the left,” Anne Hidalgo replied in her speech. Macron is on the right, he trains from the right to overtake. Hidalgo’s last big rally was at the same time justifying and saying goodbye to national politics, in anticipation of his return as the capital’s full-time mayor.
Surrounded by party figures such as Martin Aubrey or former Prime Minister Bernard Cazeneuve, the audience was filled with his most loyal supporters. “We have a great mayor who would be the great president of the republic,” said Daniel, one of those present at the Socialist rally. “But the French media only talk about him because his numbers are bad: it was not a fair campaign.” Owning a small shop in Paris, he has no illusions about his chances of making it to the second round. “We are heading straight for disaster,” he admitted. “But I always voted for a socialist.”
“Hidalgo is the only candidate who really cares about the most fragile, the elderly or the students who have to stand in line in solidarity kitchens because they have nothing to eat,” said Thibaut, another voter who arrived at the Cirque d’Hiver. . While this thirty knows that the party is going through a critical moment, he does not believe that a bad result means the end of the Socialist Party (PS). We continue to be at the head of several regions, important cities, the local implantation of the party is very strong.
Although in the last election the PS saw the number of its MPs reduced, it was able to retain several major city councils, such as Montpellier or Nantes, in addition to seizing Marcel from the right – after 25 years in opposition – thanks to a coalition of left-wing forces. Printemps marseillais (Source of Marcel). Now, many party figures are calling for a “new Epinean congress” to be convened, meaning the 1971 meeting in which François Mitterrand took control and set a new line that would lead him to the presidency nine years later.
“The goal of ending the Hidalgo campaign was to make people visible, to remind them that he is there,” political scientist Olivier Rucuanen told France Info radio. “The fact of being simple allows the Socialist Party to prepare for the future. To have an offer and improve it for the legislators. ” Former President François Hollande has started a movement to regain control of the PS, but most of the French media point to Carol Delga, president of the Occitan region (re-elected by an absolute majority in 2021) as the best deputy to embody the new socialist. Line.
Across the city, the same week that Anna Hidalgo was holding her rally, Valerie Pecresse addressed her supporters at the Parc des Expositions in the port of Versailles. Only after a period of isolation because of COVID-19 – which forced him to suspend public action for a week – did Pecres also want to use this act as a personal claim. His party, the Republicans (LR), has managed to paint a much stronger image of the union than the PS, with the exception of Nicolas Sarkozy, whose silence is interpreted as the silent support of Emmanuel Macron. Or, at least, as a denial of Pekres.
Virtually no one believes their chances of reaching the second round and local representatives are already preparing the following dates. But the end result is important: getting a better score than Eric Zemur is essential for the next legislative election, where the leader of the far-right talk show hopes – along with Marion Marshall Le Pen – to strengthen his party Reconquista. Zemur and Pecres are fighting for a similar electorate – according to the Ipsos barometer, 14% of Philo voters in 2017 will now vote for Zemur – and are concentrating on attacking each other, giving preference to Marin Le Pen, who came in second. In the last section of the campaign.
The party of Sarkozy and Jacques Chirac is preparing for a battle between two distinct lines: a more centrist one based on economic issues and a more straightforward current based on security and national identity. A division that may appear Sunday night when some officials call on Macron to vote to keep it Republican Front Against the extreme right and others supporting Le Pen or refusing to vote.
The main representative of the party’s heavy wing will be MP Eric Siot, in the second last primary after Pecresse, who has repeatedly stated that he feels closer to Eric Zemur than to Emanuel Macron. Last Wednesday, a forum signed by several party members was posted in St. Louis Figaro, Called for LR to maintain its independence from the other parties. “We can not express ourselves either in the majority represented by Emmanuel Macron or in the extreme right represented by Marin Le Pen and Eric Zemor. But with the third election defeat in a row on the road, the party finds it difficult to draw a common line of respect for all.
Source: El Diario
I’m Wayne Wickman, a professional journalist and author for Today Times Live. My specialty is covering global news and current events, offering readers a unique perspective on the world’s most pressing issues. I’m passionate about storytelling and helping people stay informed on the goings-on of our planet.
