The Second Toulouse Congress was the twenty-third national congress of the French
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 ...
(''Parti socialiste'' or PS), the congress was held from October 26 to 28, 2012, in the city of
Toulouse
Toulouse ( , ; oc, Tolosa ) is the prefecture of the French department of Haute-Garonne and of the larger region of Occitania. The city is on the banks of the River Garonne, from the Mediterranean Sea, from the Atlantic Ocean and from Pa ...
in the
Haute-Garonne
Haute-Garonne (; oc, Nauta Garona, ; en, Upper Garonne) is a department in the Occitanie region of Southwestern France. Named after the river Garonne, which flows through the department. Its prefecture and main city is Toulouse, the country' ...
.
First Secretary
Martine Aubry
Martine Louise Marie Aubry (; née Delors; born 8 August 1950) is a French politician. She was the First Secretary of the French Socialist Party (''Parti Socialiste'', or PS) from November 2008 to April 2012, and has been the Mayor (France), Mayo ...
announced that she would not run for a second term. The National Secretary for Coordination
Harlem Désir
Harlem Jean-Philippe Désir (; born 25 November 1959) is a French politician who served in the government of France as Secretary of State for European Affairs from 2014 to 2017. Previously he was First Secretary of the French Socialist Party. Sin ...
became the next party leader.
Motions
Five motions were voted upon by members:
*Motion 1: "Mobilise the French People for a Successful Change" (''Mobiliser les Français pour réussir le changement''): Led by
Harlem Désir
Harlem Jean-Philippe Désir (; born 25 November 1959) is a French politician who served in the government of France as Secretary of State for European Affairs from 2014 to 2017. Previously he was First Secretary of the French Socialist Party. Sin ...
and supported by
Martine Aubry
Martine Louise Marie Aubry (; née Delors; born 8 August 1950) is a French politician. She was the First Secretary of the French Socialist Party (''Parti Socialiste'', or PS) from November 2008 to April 2012, and has been the Mayor (France), Mayo ...
,
Prime Minister
A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister i ...
Jean-Marc Ayrault
Jean-Marc Ayrault (; born 25 January 1950) is a French politician who served as Prime Minister of France from 15 May 2012 to 31 March 2014. He later was Minister of Foreign Affairs from 2016 to 2017. He previously was Mayor of Nantes from 1989 t ...
, all socialist members of the
Cabinet and a majority of MPs.
*Motion 2: "Matter of Principle" (''Question de principes''): Led by
Juliette Méadel and endorsed by
Gaëtan Gorce.
*Motion 3: "Now the Left" (''Maintenant la gauche''): Led by Emmanuel Maurel and supported by
Marie-Noëlle Lienemann
Marie-Noëlle Lienemann (born 12 July 1951, in Belfort) is a French politician who served as Member of the European Parliament for the North West of France. Until 2018, she was a member of the Socialist Party, part of the Party of European Socia ...
, Gérard Filoche, Jérôme Guedj and the Utopia movement.
*Motion 4: "Dare. Further. Faster" (''Oser. Plus loin. Plus vite''): Led by
Stéphane Hessel and supported by Pierre Larrouturou.
*Motion 5: "Toulouse, my Congress" (''Toulouse, mon congrès''): Motion led by
Constance Blanchard.
Results of the Motions vote
Election of the First Secretary
On October 12, 2012, Emmanuel Maurel confirmed that he would be a candidate for the Party Leadership.
Maurel candidat pour la tête du PS
/ref> He lost to Harlem Désir.
References
{{French Socialist Party
Congresses of the Socialist Party (France)
2012 in France
2012 in politics
2012 conferences
2012 political party leadership elections
October 2012 events in France