New Popular Front

The New Popular Front (french: Nouveau Front populaire, , abbreviated as NFP, FP) and as the Ecological and Social Popular Front (french: link=no, Front populaire écologique et social, FPES)) is a broad left-wing electoral alliance of political parties in France launched on 10 June 2024 in response to the snap 2024 legislative election.

This front brings together La France Insoumise, the Socialist Party, Les Écologistes, the French Communist Party, Génération.s, Place Publique, and several other left-of-centre parties, while pushing for a mobilisation of associations, union forces and civil society.

Background

Prior to the 2022 elections, several parties of the French left founded the New Ecological and Social People's Union (NUPES) electoral alliance to jointly contest the election against National Rally and En Marche. Although collectively able to form the leading opposition bloc, the alliance failed to agree to form a singular parliamentary grouping. Despite this, the alliance denied Macron a majority within parliament.

History

Formation

On 9 June 2024, the 2024 European Parliament elections took place with exit polls indicating that National Rally had achieved twice the number of votes of Macron's Renaissance. NUPES did not take part under one ballot, but under multiple. Responding to the underperformance in the elections, Macron dissolved the parliament to call for snap parliamentary elections, with the first round scheduled for 30 June, and a second round for 7 July.

Following the announcement of fresh elections, there were calls from some to renew NUPES. Leftist politician François Ruffin called on all left-wing parties, including the Greens, to form a "Popular Front" to "avoid the worst, and to win". Socialist Party First Secretary Olivier Faure called to "create a popular front against the far right" but dismissed the notion of the left allying itself with Macron and his policies as "totally illusory".

Late on 10 June, the New Popular Front was announced with an intent to "build an alternative to Emmanuel Macron and fight the racist project of the extreme right" in the upcoming elections. The name intends to harken back on the "old" Popular Front that formed in the 1930s. The alliance agreed to a single joint slate of candidates going into the first round of the elections.

Members

Political parties

Trade unions

Organizations

External support

Election results

National Assembly

Political platform

Constitutional policy

The Front has pledged to abolish Article 49.3 of the French Constitution that allows governments to force legislation through the National Assembly without a vote. The Front has also pledged to introduce proportional representation for elections to the National Assembly and to organise a constituent assembly to prepare a new constitution for France, moving from the current Fifth Republic to a Sixth Republic.

Economic policy

The New Popular Front supports a retirement age of 60 and the repeal of the 2023 French pension reform law. The Front also supports introduction of menstrual leave and a 14% increase in the minimum wage. The Front would also re-introduce the solidarity tax on wealth that had been abolished in 2017 by Macron's government, as well as introduce a new tax on excess profits, and raising the Generalized Social Contribution paid by the richest taxpayers.

Education policy

The Front has pledged to make school lunches and supplies free. It has also pledged to abolish the Parcoursup university admissions system.

Foreign policy

The platform supports military aid to Ukraine, while committing to no direct French military intervention. The platform also calls for France to recognise the State of Palestine, and enforce an arms embargo against Israel.

Social policy

The Front has pledged to introduce gender self-determination. It has also pledged to abolish the Service national universel.

Possible Prime Minister in the event of victory

Initially, the New Popular Front did not designate a possible next Prime Minister in the event of success in the next legislative elections. On 12 June, Jean-Luc Mélenchon stated that he "felt capable" of being Prime Minister, but declared "I'm not eliminating myself, but I'm not imposing myself " and on 16 June "If you think I shouldn't be Prime Minister, I won't be" before declaring on 22 June that he was "obviously" ready to take on this responsibility. He added: "An agreement had been reached for 'the largest parliamentary group to present the candidate for Prime Minister'". But for Raphaël Glucksmann and Carole Delga, the left-wing candidate for prime minister "will not be Jean-Luc Mélenchon". After his speech on 22 June, his figure was brandished by the RN and the presidential camp as a repellent. Several voices in the coalition opposed this hypothesis, considering that he was not unifying enough, in particular Fabien Roussel, Clémentine Autain, François Hollande and Marine Tondelier. On 24 June, he added that he was "not a candidate for anything", but that the Prime Minister would be from LFI. On 25 June, François Ruffin declared that Mélenchon "is an obstacle to the victory" of the New Popular Front.

François Ruffin and Fabien Roussel say they are ready to take on this responsibility. Valérie Rabault, Vice-President of the French National Assembly, is in favour of a "female candidate", citing Carole Delga, Clémentine Autain and herself. Former CFDT leader Laurent Berger was also proposed by Raphaël Glucksmann and Sandrine Rousseau.

On 22 June, a LegiTrack poll by OpinionWay-Vae Solis for Les Echos and Radio Classique showed that in the event of a New Popular Front victory, the French would prefer a Prime Minister from the PS (44% of respondents) rather than from LFI (25%).

Reactions

From the left

On 11 June, the vice president of the Occitanie region, Kamel Chibli of the Socialist Party opposed the agreement, accusing it of being "NUPES 2" and "political nonsense". Former President François Hollande, who had been an opponent of NUPES, announced that he supported the New Popular Front, and was later confirmed as a candidate for the alliance in Corrèze's 1st constituency, a seat he had held for over twenty years between 1988 and his election to the presidency in 2012. MEP Raphaël Glucksmann, who was initially cautious in regards to his support of the alliance, ultimately announced his support of it on 14 June.

The socialist magazine Jacobin analysed the controversial decision by La France Insoumise to purge certain candidates which ignited significant internal criticism. Such as Alexis Corbière and Raquel Garrido, who have argued for a more "conciliatory approach" towards the other left-wing forces. Party leader Jean-Luc Mélenchon faced backlash from both members and allies, who criticised that the move was autocratic and damaging to party unity. Critics contended that the purge was an attempt to centralize power and stifle dissenting voices within the party. This internal conflict highlighted broader issues within the NFP, as the need for unity against the far-right was undermined by such divisive actions, threatening the effectiveness and cohesion of the left-wing alliance.

From the political centre/centrists

Former prime minister of France Manuel Valls, a former member of the Socialist Party and current member of Renaissance, who was an opponent of NUPES in 2022, denounced the agreement. Bruno Le Maire, Minister of Economics and Finance and member of Renaissance, called the New Popular Front's programme "complete madness," saying that it was "completely detached from the reality of the world." French Prime Minister Gabriel Attal, also of Renaissance, called the Front "an agreement of shame." French President Emmanuel Macron described the Front's programme as "four times worse" than that of the National Rally, saying that there would be "no more laïcité, they will go back on the immigration law, and there are things that are completely grotesque like changing your gender at the town hall."

Volt France, a liberal Eurofederalist party, criticised the agreement, and echoed Raphaël Glucksmann's call for a "European front" uniting "all republican and pro-European forces." Guillaume Lacroix, the leader of the Radical Party of the Left, announced that while his party was not part of the agreement, they would support "left-wing andidateswho share its republican, secular and universalist values as well as all Republican candidates capable of beating the RN." Cap21 called for a "grand gathering of all the political forces of the left, centre and ecologists."

Unser Land, which is a member of Régions et Peuples Solidaires along with the Breton Democratic Union and Euskal Herria Bai, announced an independent candidacy stating that their candidates "will be the only ones to bring the idea of an autonomous Alsace in a federal France" and said that "Macron is a Jacobin, Le Pen and Mélenchon even more so."

Notes

References

{{French political parties

2024 establishments in France
French Communist Party
La France Insoumise
Left-wing parties in France
Left-wing political party alliances
Political parties established in 2024
Political parties of the French Fifth Republic
Political party alliances in France
Socialist Party (France)