The Left Party (French: ', PG) is a
democratic-socialist political party
A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular country's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific political ideology ...
in
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
,
founded in 2009 by
Jean-Luc Mélenchon and
Marc Dolez after their departure from the
Socialist Party
Socialist Party is the name of many different political parties around the world. All of these parties claim to uphold some form of socialism, though they may have very different interpretations of what "socialism" means. Statistically, most of t ...
(PS). The PG brings together personalities and groups from different political traditions; it claims a socialist, ecologist and republican orientation.
Politically located between the
Socialist Party
Socialist Party is the name of many different political parties around the world. All of these parties claim to uphold some form of socialism, though they may have very different interpretations of what "socialism" means. Statistically, most of t ...
and the
French Communist Party
The French Communist Party (french: Parti communiste français, ''PCF'' ; ) is a political party in France which advocates the principles of communism. The PCF is a member of the Party of the European Left, and its MEPs sit in the European Unit ...
, the Left Party intends to federate all the sensitivities of the anti-
liberal
Liberal or liberalism may refer to:
Politics
* a supporter of liberalism
** Liberalism by country
* an adherent of a Liberal Party
* Liberalism (international relations)
* Sexually liberal feminism
* Social liberalism
Arts, entertainment and m ...
left—which they also calls "the other left"—within the same alliance. In 2008, the PG joined forces with the Communist Party of the United Left and six other left-wing and far-left organizations in the coalition of the
Left Front, of which
Jean-Luc Mélenchon was the candidate for the presidential election.
The PG was co-chaired from 2010 by Jean-Luc Mélenchon and Martine Billard. In 2016, the Left Party had 8,000 members. At the end of 2014, Jean-Luc Mélenchon and Martine Billard resigned, and the party leadership was then collectively ensured by the national secretariat. The weekly newspaper, ''L'Intérêt général'' (formerly ''À gauche'') is sent to all members but also to simple subscribers. It is printed at more than 15,000 copies a week.
In 2016, in view of the presidential and legislative elections of the following year, Jean-Luc Mélenchon formed a new movement,
La France Insoumise
La France Insoumise (FI or LFI; ; "France Unbowed") is a left-wing populist political party in France, launched in 2016 by Jean-Luc Mélenchon, then a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) and former co-president of the Left Party (PG). It aims ...
, that the Left Party helped to animate.
History
It was founded in November 2008 by former
Socialist
Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes the e ...
senator
Jean-Luc Mélenchon, deputy
Marc Dolez, and other dissidents of the party together with the ' movement (', "Movement for a Republican and Social Alternative").
They had left the five days earlier, in protest of the result of the
Reims Congress
The Reims Congress was the twenty-second national congress of the French Socialist Party (''Parti socialiste'' or PS), taking place from 14 to 16 November 2008 in the city of Reims in the Marne.
Incumbent First Secretary François Hollande announ ...
vote on motions, where the leftist motion they supported won only 19%.
They were joined after by other members from the left of the
Socialist Party
Socialist Party is the name of many different political parties around the world. All of these parties claim to uphold some form of socialism, though they may have very different interpretations of what "socialism" means. Statistically, most of t ...
, by people who hadn't been members of a political party before, and by dissidents from the
Green Party
A green party is a formally organized political party based on the principles of green politics, such as social justice, environmentalism and nonviolence.
Greens believe that these issues are inherently related to one another as a foundation f ...
following the deputy
Martine Billard
Martine Billard (born in Boulogne-Billancourt, Hauts-de-Seine) is a French politician and a deputy to the National Assembly of France. She is a member of the Parti de Gauche.
Martine Billard entered politics in May 1968 with the "comité ...
.
In 2010 the PG was accepted in the
Party of European Left.
In November 2013, the joined the international
Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions
Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) is a Palestinian-led movement promoting boycotts, divestments, and economic sanctions against Israel. Its objective is to pressure Israel to meet what the BDS movement describes as Israel's obligations ...
(BDS) campaign against
Israel
Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...
.
Co-presidents and co-founders Mélenchon and stepped down from office in 2014. Since its 2015 congress, the party is led by its coordinators and spokespersons Eric Coquerel and Danielle Simonnet.
On 2 July 2018 the party withdrew from the Party of European Left, not agreeing with the presence of the Greek party
Syriza
The Coalition of the Radical Left – Progressive Alliance ( el, Συνασπισμός Ριζοσπαστικής Αριστεράς – Προοδευτική Συμμαχία, Synaspismós Rizospastikís Aristerás – Proodeftikí Simachía), ...
in the alliance.
Elected officials
* Member of the
European Parliament
The European Parliament (EP) is one of the legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and informally as the Council of Ministers), it adopts ...
:
Jean-Luc Mélenchon
Around 90 local elected officials (municipal, regional and general councillors), including two members of the
Council of Paris
The Council of Paris (French: ''Conseil de Paris'') is the deliberative body responsible for governing Paris, the capital of France. It possesses both the powers of a municipal council (''conseil municipal'') and those of a departmental counci ...
, initially joined the party. This number has dropped since then.
Popular support and electoral record
The PG has not yet run independently in an election, so its base of support is hard to pin-point.
European Parliament
References
External links
*
{{Authority control
2008 establishments in France
Alter-globalization
Democratic socialist parties in Europe
Eurosceptic parties in France
La France Insoumise
Non-governmental organizations involved in the Israeli–Palestinian conflict
Parties represented in the European Parliament
Party of the European Left former member parties
Political parties established in 2008
Political parties of the French Fifth Republic
Socialist parties in France
Jean-Luc Mélenchon