Mélenchon suspends negotiations on government and asks Socialists to stop fielding candidates

The left-wing France Insoumise party (LFI) announced this Monday the suspension of discussions with the rest of the left parties to agree on a candidate for prime minister on behalf of the New Popular Front (NFP) coalition, which remains the leading force in the National Assembly in the last legislative elections.

“For the time being, we will not participate in any further debate on the formation of a government,” says the group founded by Jean-Luc Mélenchon – “Political blockade”.

They also warn that this “impasse” generated by the Socialists will not be solved by a “reform of the external candidacy”, as proposed by the Socialist First Secretary, Olivier Faure, in an interview with the public channel France Info this Monday.

Rejection of Huguette Bell

The LFI accused the Socialist leadership of “imposing” its candidacy on the NFP, arguing that “this would be the only acceptable one” for French President Emmanuel Macron, who has the power to appoint the prime minister. However, the latter could be overturned in a motion of censure by the National Assembly if it does not receive enough support.

They exemplify this blockade with the Socialist rejection of the prime ministerial candidacy of Huguette Bello, president of the Regional Council of La Réunion, which was proposed by the Communists and validated by the rebels.

He also recalled that he himself had proposed four high-profile names from the formation (including Mélenchon), which were also not accepted.

presiding over the assembly

The last major hurdle in the left’s complex internal negotiations, which have been ongoing since the results were announced on July 7, is the nomination of a single candidate for the position of president of the new National Assembly, which will begin this new legislature on Thursday.

“Enough of the haggling. Our decision is the following: we demand a single candidacy for the presidency of the National Assembly and until that is resolved, we will not resume debate on anything else,” Mélenchon said on the X social network.

The call of some members of the Socialism Party, such as deputy Philippe Brun, to “replace the New Popular Front with another alliance with the sectors of Macronism” has also not gone down well with the rebel side, a sign that has also slipped through the presidential camp.

“We will not return to it (in terms of negotiations to agree on a government) until the Socialist Party refuses to veto any candidacy that is not its own, confirms its rejection of any type of compromise with the Macronist side and confirms its will to implement the program of the New Popular Front,” the LFI affirmed in its statement.

From the moment the unexpected results of the second round of the early legislative elections emerged, the NFP agreed to demand from Macron that the next prime minister come from the left, given that the NFP would be the first force in the Assembly in terms of number of seats, although far from an absolute majority of 289 deputies.

In total, the NFP added almost 195 seats with its allies, while Macronism got 163 and the extreme right of Marine Le Pen, which started as a favorite, obtained another 143 seats.

Macron, for his part, has announced he will wait until the parties form a solid majority that guarantees governance, something that seems far away at the moment.

Waiting for this to happen, it is expected that the current government led by Gabriel Attal will tender its resignation before the 18th, the date of the start of the session of the new Assembly.