French Socialist Party presidential primary, 2017
   HOME

TheInfoList



Click Here for Items Related To - French Socialist Party presidential primary, 2017
OR:
French Socialist Party presidential primary, 2017 on:   [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Amazon]

The
French Socialist Party The Socialist Party (french: Parti socialiste , PS) is a French centre-left and social-democratic political party. It holds pro-European views. The PS was for decades the largest party of the "French Left" and used to be one of the two major po ...
held a two-round presidential primary to select a candidate for the 2017 presidential election on 22 and 29 January 2017. It was the second
open primary Primary elections, or direct primary are a voting process by which voters can indicate their preference for their party's candidate, or a candidate in general, in an upcoming general election, local election, or by-election. Depending on the ...
(''primaires citoyennes'') held by the center-left coalition, after the primary in 2011 in which
François Hollande François Gérard Georges Nicolas Hollande (; born 12 August 1954) is a French politician who served as President of France from 2012 to 2017. He previously was First Secretary of the Socialist Party (France), First Secretary of the Socialist P ...
defeated
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 of Lille (No ...
to become the Socialist nominee. Hollande went on to defeat incumbent
Nicolas Sarkozy Nicolas Paul Stéphane Sarközy de Nagy-Bocsa (; ; born 28 January 1955) is a French politician who served as President of France from 2007 to 2012. Born in Paris, he is of Hungarian, Greek Jewish, and French origin. Mayor of Neuilly-sur-Se ...
in the 2012 presidential election. However, because of his low approval rating, he announced that he would not seek re-election, becoming the first president of the Fifth Republic to decide not to run for a second term. The primary was contested by seven candidates, four from the Socialist Party and three representing other parties part of the left-wing electoral alliance (''la Belle Alliance populaire''). The three frontrunners in the first round of the primary were
Manuel Valls Manuel Carlos Valls Galfetti (, , ; born 13 August 1962) is a French-Spanish politician who has served as a Barcelona city councillor from 2019 to 2021. He served as Prime Minister of France from 2014 until 2016 under president François Hol ...
, who served as Hollande's
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 is ...
from 2014 to 2016 and
interior minister An interior minister (sometimes called a minister of internal affairs or minister of home affairs) is a cabinet official position that is responsible for internal affairs, such as public security, civil registration and identification, emergency ...
from 2012 to 2014;
Benoît Hamon Benoît Hamon (; born 26 June 1967) is a French politician known for his former role within the Socialist Party (PS) and Party of European Socialists (PES) and his political party Génération.s. Hamon joined the Socialist Party in 1988 and ...
, Minister of National Education in 2014; and
Arnaud Montebourg Arnaud Montebourg (; born 30 October 1962) is a French politician, lawyer and entrepreneur who served as the Minister of Industrial Renewal from 2012 to 2014,Minister of the Economy, Production Recovery and the Digital Sector from 2012 to 2014. On 22 January, Hamon received 36.03% and Valls 31.48% of the vote in the first round and advanced to the runoff, far ahead of all other candidates and well ahead of Montebourg, who was eliminated and immediately endorsed Hamon. In the runoff, Hamon easily defeated Valls, beating the ex-PM by nearly 20 percentage points, and officially took the mantle as nominee of the PS in the 2017 presidential election.


Background

At the 2012 Toulouse Congress, 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 ...
(PS) modified its statutes to guarantee the selection of a candidate of the left through open primaries, with the National Council of the Socialist Party announcing the timetable and organization of the primaries at least one year beforehand. On 11 January, ''
Libération ''Libération'' (), popularly known as ''Libé'' (), is a daily newspaper in France, founded in Paris by Jean-Paul Sartre and Serge July in 1973 in the wake of the protest movements of May 1968. Initially positioned on the far-left of France' ...
'' published an editorial in favor of a "primary of the left and ecologists", and on 9 April the National Council of the Socialist Party unanimously approved the idea of holding such a primary in early December. The same day,
Europe Ecology – The Greens Europe Ecology – The Greens (french: Europe Écologie Les Verts , EELV ) is a centre-left to left-wing green political party in France. The party is a member of the European Green Party. The party was formed on 13 November 2010 from the ...
(EELV) adopted a motion saying that it would "welcome with interest" such a primary, but withheld formal support. On 18 June, the National Council finally confirmed that it would organize a primary to select a candidate for the 2017 presidential election. Applications could be submitted from 1 to 15 December, with two rounds of voting planned for 22 and 29 January 2017. Under the rules of the primary, candidates of the PS,
Radical Party of the Left The Radical Party of the Left (french: Parti radical de gauche, PRG) is a social-liberal political party in France. A party in the Radical tradition, since 1972 the PRG was a close ally of the major party of the centre-left in France, the Soc ...
(PRG), and pro-government ex-EELV forces – i.e., the
Ecologist Party The Ecologist Party (French: ''Parti écologiste'', PÉ), founded as Écologistes !, is a centre-left French political party that holds pro-European views, created in September 2015 by François de Rugy, President of the Europe Ecology – The ...
(PE) and
Union of Democrats and Ecologists The Ecologist Party ( French: ''Parti écologiste'', PÉ), founded as Écologistes !, is a centre-left French political party that holds pro-European views, created in September 2015 by François de Rugy, President of the Europe Ecology – The ...
(UDE) – in addition to all those who supported the primary process. The PRG suspended its participation in the ''Belle Alliance populaire'' (BAP) of left-wing forces on 29 June 2016, denouncing the Socialist Party's unilateral decision to run a primary, and arguing that the BAP should not become a "simple satellite movement of the Socialist Party". On 2 July, the delegates of the BAP unanimously approved the organization of the primary. The PRG voted to support the candidacy of its party leader
Sylvia Pinel Sylvia Pinel (born 28 September 1977) is a French politician who has been serving as a member of the National Assembly of France since 2016 to 2022, where she represented the 2nd constituency in the Tarn-et-Garonne department. Since 3 Se ...
, outside the primary, on 26 November, but on 6 December Pinel announced that she would ultimately run in the primary of the left, a decision the party's steering committee confirmed on 14 December. Prospective PS candidates were required to sign the primary's charter of ethics requiring candidates to rally behind its winner and to secure the support of 5% of one of the following groups: members of the National Council; Socialist parliamentarians, regional and departmental Socialist councilors in at least 4 regions and 10 departments; or Socialist mayors representing more than 10,000 people in at least 4 regions and 10 departments. The conditions for becoming a candidate of other member parties of the BAP – the PRG, UDE, PE, and
Democratic Front Democratic Front is a name used by political parties and alliances in several countries, such as: *Democratic Front (Albania) * Democratic Front for the Liberation of Angola *Democratic Front (Bosnia and Herzegovina) * Democratic Front (Cyprus) * De ...
(FD) – were determined by the respective parties' leadership. The EELV declared on 20 June that it would not participate in the primary, 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 ...
(PCF) did likewise the following day. After declaring his candidacy for the presidential election,
Emmanuel Macron Emmanuel Macron (; born 21 December 1977) is a French politician who has served as President of France since 2017. ''Ex officio'', he is also one of the two Co-Princes of Andorra. Prior to his presidency, Macron served as Minister of Econ ...
of En Marche! also declined to participate, as did
Jean-Luc Mélenchon Jean-Luc Antoine Pierre Mélenchon (; born 19 August 1951) is a French politician who was a member of the National Assembly for the 4th constituency of Bouches-du-Rhône from 2017 to 2022. He led the ''La France Insoumise'' group in the Nation ...
under the banner of
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 ...
, saying that he did not want to run in a primary with
François Hollande François Gérard Georges Nicolas Hollande (; born 12 August 1954) is a French politician who served as President of France from 2012 to 2017. He previously was First Secretary of the Socialist Party (France), First Secretary of the Socialist P ...
since he would not be able to support Hollande if he won. He later reaffirmed this by saying that with the exclusion of the EELV and PRG the primary was not truly "of the left" but a "primary of the Socialist Party". On 1 December, Hollande declared that he would not seek a second term, becoming the first President of the Fifth Republic to renounce a reelection bid. His announcement reflected his high personal unpopularity and resentment among Socialist colleagues regarding remarks he made about cabinet members and other associates in the book '' Un président ne devrait pas dire ça...'' (A president should not say that...) by
Gérard Davet Gérard Davet (born 1966) is a French investigative journalist for ''Le Monde''. Early life Gérard Davet was born on August 25, 1966. His father is a salesman and his mother is a teacher. He grew up in Meudon-la-Forêt. Career Davet became a ...
and
Fabrice Lhomme Fabrice Lhomme (born 1965) is a French investigative journalist for ''Le Monde''. Early life Fabrice Lhomme was born on 17 November 1965. He was educated in a boarding school in Normandy. He attended François Rabelais University in Tours, where ...
, journalists at ''
Le Monde ''Le Monde'' (; ) is a French daily afternoon newspaper. It is the main publication of Le Monde Group and reported an average circulation of 323,039 copies per issue in 2009, about 40,000 of which were sold abroad. It has had its own website si ...
''. On 17 December, the High Authority of the open primary declared that seven candidates qualified to appear on the ballot, including four from the Socialist Party – former
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 is ...
Manuel Valls Manuel Carlos Valls Galfetti (, , ; born 13 August 1962) is a French-Spanish politician who has served as a Barcelona city councillor from 2019 to 2021. He served as Prime Minister of France from 2014 until 2016 under president François Hol ...
,
Arnaud Montebourg Arnaud Montebourg (; born 30 October 1962) is a French politician, lawyer and entrepreneur who served as the Minister of Industrial Renewal from 2012 to 2014,Benoît Hamon Benoît Hamon (; born 26 June 1967) is a French politician known for his former role within the Socialist Party (PS) and Party of European Socialists (PES) and his political party Génération.s. Hamon joined the Socialist Party in 1988 and ...
, and
Vincent Peillon Vincent Benoît Camille Peillon (; born 7 July 1960) is a French politician who served as Minister for Education in the French Government. He is a longstanding French politician and, from 2014 until 2019, served as a Member of the European Parl ...
– the other three being
François de Rugy François Henri Goullet de Rugy (; born 6 December 1973) is a French politician who served as President of the National Assembly from 2017 to 2018 and Minister of Ecological and Solidary Transition from 2018 to 2019. Since 2007, he has repres ...
of the PE, Sylvia Pinel of the PRG, and
Jean-Luc Bennahmias Jean-Luc Bennahmias (born 2 December 1954) is a French politician. Political career Bennahmias was National secretary of the Green Party (1997–2001), Regional councillor (1992–1996) and Chairman of the Green Group on the Provence-Alpes-Cà ...
of the PD.


Candidacies

Former economy minister
Arnaud Montebourg Arnaud Montebourg (; born 30 October 1962) is a French politician, lawyer and entrepreneur who served as the Minister of Industrial Renewal from 2012 to 2014,in 2011, was one of the first to declare interest in a speech at Mont Beuvray on 16 May 2016, widely viewed as indicating his interest in running for the presidency, in which he issued a "call" to "build" a "great alternative project for France" to an audience of 200 Socialist Party militants. Among those in attendance were former minister
Aurélie Filippetti Aurélie Filippetti ( ; born 17 June 1973) is a French politician and novelist. She served as French Minister of Culture and Communications from 2012 until 2014, first in the government of Jean-Marc Ayrault and then in the government of Manu ...
, as well as MPs Christian Paul, chief among the party's rebels, having had a part in the foundation of the New Socialist Party caucus along with Montebourg, Laurent Baumel and Patrice Prat. Montebourg officially declared his candidacy on 16 August, decrying Hollande's betrayal of the "ideals of the left" in
Frangy-en-Bresse Frangy-en-Bresse (, literally ''Frangy in Bresse'') is a commune in the Saône-et-Loire department in the region of Bourgogne-Franche-Comté in eastern France. See also *Communes of the Saône-et-Loire department The following is a list of ...
in his home département of
Saône-et-Loire Saône-et-Loire (; Arpitan: ''Sona-et-Lêre'') is a department in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region in France. It is named after the rivers Saône and Loire, between which it lies, in the country's central-eastern part. Saône-et-Loire is Bo ...
, and laid out an anti-globalization campaign platform based on protectionism for French businesses, threats to nationalize predatory banks, and tax breaks for the middle class, themes which became central to his campaign. These themes were reflective of his combative tenure as economy minister, in which he threatened to nationalize divisions of
ArcelorMittal ArcelorMittal S.A. is a Luxembourgian multinational steel manufacturing corporation headquartered in Luxembourg City. It was formed in 2006 from the takeover and merger of Arcelor by Indian-owned Mittal Steel. ArcelorMittal is the second ...
and attempted but ultimately failed to prevent
General Electric General Electric Company (GE) is an American multinational conglomerate founded in 1892, and incorporated in New York state and headquartered in Boston. The company operated in sectors including healthcare, aviation, power, renewable ene ...
's partial acquisition of French multinational
Alstom Alstom SA is a French multinational corporation, multinational rolling stock manufacturer operating worldwide in rail transport markets, active in the fields of passenger transportation, signalling, and locomotives, with products including the A ...
. Former French education minister
Benoît Hamon Benoît Hamon (; born 26 June 1967) is a French politician known for his former role within the Socialist Party (PS) and Party of European Socialists (PES) and his political party Génération.s. Hamon joined the Socialist Party in 1988 and ...
, another founder of the New Socialist Party caucus, declared his candidacy on the same day, arguing that Hollande could "no longer earn the French people's trust" and proposed to raise the minimum wage, to further reduce the
35-hour workweek The 35-hour working week is a part of a labour law reform adopted in France in February 2000, under Prime Minister Lionel Jospin's Plural Left government. Pushed by Minister of Labour Martine Aubry, it was adopted in two phases: the "Aubry 1" la ...
instituted by the Socialists in 2000 to 32 hours, a €35 billion stimulus for the French economy, and legalizing marijuana. His signature campaign plan, however, was his intention to introduce a €300–400 billion
universal basic income Universal basic income (UBI) is a social welfare proposal in which all citizens of a given population regularly receive an unconditional transfer payment, that is, without a means test or need to work. It would be received independently of ...
program funded by a tax on robots, equivalent to a monthly income of approximately €750 per person. Like Montebourg, he was ejected from the Socialist government by prime minister
Manuel Valls Manuel Carlos Valls Galfetti (, , ; born 13 August 1962) is a French-Spanish politician who has served as a Barcelona city councillor from 2019 to 2021. He served as Prime Minister of France from 2014 until 2016 under president François Hol ...
in a wider purge of left-wing dissenters after the fall of the First Valls Government in August 2014. On 1 December 2016, incumbent President
François Hollande François Gérard Georges Nicolas Hollande (; born 12 August 1954) is a French politician who served as President of France from 2012 to 2017. He previously was First Secretary of the Socialist Party (France), First Secretary of the Socialist P ...
announced in a televised address from the
Élysée Palace The Élysée Palace (french: Palais de l'Élysée; ) is the official residence of the President of the French Republic. Completed in 1722, it was built for nobleman and army officer Louis Henri de La Tour d'Auvergne, who had been appointed Gove ...
that he would not seek a second term in office, clearing the way for Valls to enter the race, who subsequently announced his candidacy on 5 December. Valls, Montebourg, and Hamon ultimately became the main three contenders for the Socialist nomination, but several other candidates ultimately participated in the primary. Former Minister of National Education
Vincent Peillon Vincent Benoît Camille Peillon (; born 7 July 1960) is a French politician who served as Minister for Education in the French Government. He is a longstanding French politician and, from 2014 until 2019, served as a Member of the European Parl ...
made a late bid to become the Socialist nominee, announcing his candidacy on 11 December, returning from a two-and-a-half-year residency in Switzerland in which he taught philosophy at the
University of Neuchâtel The University of Neuchâtel (UniNE) is a French-speaking university based in Neuchâtel, Switzerland. The university has four faculties (schools) and more than a dozen institutes, including arts and human sciences, natural sciences, law and eco ...
and wrote novels; his bid contrasts with those of Montebourg and Hamon, representing the mainstream Socialist Party as opposed to its left-wing rebels. Three other candidates, not of the Socialist Party, also ran in the primary as members of the parties of ''la Belle Alliance Populaire'', a left-wing grouping. Among these were MP
François de Rugy François Henri Goullet de Rugy (; born 6 December 1973) is a French politician who served as President of the National Assembly from 2017 to 2018 and Minister of Ecological and Solidary Transition from 2018 to 2019. Since 2007, he has repres ...
, representing the
Ecologist Party The Ecologist Party (French: ''Parti écologiste'', PÉ), founded as Écologistes !, is a centre-left French political party that holds pro-European views, created in September 2015 by François de Rugy, President of the Europe Ecology – The ...
which he founded along with Senator
Jean-Vincent Placé Jean-Vincent Placé (born 12 March 1968) is a South Korean-born, French Green politician. Adopted by a French family as a child, Placé entered politics as a member of the Radical Party of the Left before joining Europe Ecology – The Greens. H ...
after leaving the EELV in August 2015 over concerns about the party pandering to its left wing;
Sylvia Pinel Sylvia Pinel (born 28 September 1977) is a French politician who has been serving as a member of the National Assembly of France since 2016 to 2022, where she represented the 2nd constituency in the Tarn-et-Garonne department. Since 3 Se ...
of the
Radical Party of the Left The Radical Party of the Left (french: Parti radical de gauche, PRG) is a social-liberal political party in France. A party in the Radical tradition, since 1972 the PRG was a close ally of the major party of the centre-left in France, the Soc ...
(PRG), and
Jean-Luc Bennahmias Jean-Luc Bennahmias (born 2 December 1954) is a French politician. Political career Bennahmias was National secretary of the Green Party (1997–2001), Regional councillor (1992–1996) and Chairman of the Green Group on the Provence-Alpes-Cà ...
, who left the Democratic Movement to found his own centre-left party, the Democratic Front. Several other candidates also filed petitions to run in the primary, including Senator
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 Gérard ( French: ) is a French masculine given name and surname of Germanic origin, variations of which exist in many Germanic and Romance languages. Like many other early Germanic names, it is dithematic, consisting of two meaningful constitu ...
, Fabien Verdier, and
Pierre Larrouturou Pierre Larrouturou (born 1964) is a French economist and politician who has been serving as a Member of the European Parliament since 2019. He previously was a regional councilor of the ÃŽle-de-France. Political career Early beginnings While ...
. Despite initially contemplating running, Lienemann decided not to run in the primary on 9 December, worried about the splitting of votes between candidates of the party's left wing – Montebourg and Hamon – and urging them to unite forces. Although she stated that she faced pressure to withdraw her candidacy, these pressures were not a factor in her recusal from the primary. Filoche, a trade unionist, failed to secure the necessary number of sponsors to enter the primary (though he attempted to lodge a challenge against the decision of the High Authority), as did Verdier. Both men claimed that, because they represented other left-wing parties (''Parti politique Filoche2017'' and ''Convictions'', respectively), they were not bound by the requirement to seek sufficient support, as with Pinel, de Rugy, and Bennahmias; nevertheless, the decision to exclude both was reaffirmed. Larrouturou's application was rejected because his
New Deal The New Deal was a series of programs, public work projects, financial reforms, and regulations enacted by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in the United States between 1933 and 1939. Major federal programs agencies included the Civilian Con ...
party was not a member of the left-wing alliance for the primary, as were those of
Bastien Faudot The Citizen and Republican Movement ( French: ''Mouvement républicain et citoyen'') is a political party in France. The party replaced in 2002 the Citizens' Movement (''Mouvement des citoyens'', MDC) founded by Jean-Pierre Chevènement, who le ...
of the
Citizen and Republican Movement The Citizen and Republican Movement (French: ''Mouvement républicain et citoyen'') is a political party in France. The party replaced in 2002 the Citizens' Movement (''Mouvement des citoyens'', MDC) founded by Jean-Pierre Chevènement, who l ...
and
Sébastien Nadot Sébastien Nadot (born 8 July 1972 in Fleurance (Gers)), is a French historian, writer and politician. In the 2017 elections, he was elected as a member of La République En Marche! to the French National Assembly, representing the department ...
of the
Movement of Progressives The Movement of Progressives (french: Mouvement des progressistes, MDP) formerly known as the Progressive Unitary Movement, is a minor democratic-socialist political party in France. Their sole MP ( Sébastien Nadot) and their sole Senator a ...
.


Campaign

The unpopularity of incumbent president Hollande led to widespread speculation as to whether he would choose to run for re-election, facing fierce competition within his own party in the Socialist primary; when he ultimately renounced his candidacy on 1 December 2016, he cleared the way for prime minister
Manuel Valls Manuel Carlos Valls Galfetti (, , ; born 13 August 1962) is a French-Spanish politician who has served as a Barcelona city councillor from 2019 to 2021. He served as Prime Minister of France from 2014 until 2016 under president François Hol ...
to enter the field on 5 December. Valls, considered the "natural successor" to Hollande and whose attempts to modernize the Socialist Party have been characterized as similar to those of
Tony Blair Sir Anthony Charles Lynton Blair (born 6 May 1953) is a British former politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1997 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007. He previously served as Leader of t ...
with the
British Labour Party The Labour Party is a political party in the United Kingdom that has been described as an alliance of social democrats, democratic socialists and trade unionists. The Labour Party sits on the centre-left of the political spectrum. In all ...
, earned a reputation for his law-and-order approach as prime minister, instituting business-friendly supply-side reforms and taking a tough position on migration, at one point even questioning whether Islam was compatible with the French Republic; all these views placed him well to the right wing of his party. Valls' important role in Hollande's government resulted in him becoming similarly unpopular, even within his own party and on the left. On 15 December, he declared that if elected president, he would abolish article 49-3, an executive degree enshrined within the
Constitution of France The current Constitution of France was adopted on 4 October 1958. It is typically called the Constitution of the Fifth Republic , and it replaced the Constitution of the Fourth Republic of 1946 with the exception of the preamble per a Consti ...
. He controversially used it as prime minister to force laws through the
National Assembly In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the r ...
, bypassing legislative approval, to send them directly to the
Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...
, and his repudiation of the 49-3 was met with derision, Valls having used it to force through controversial labour reforms in the
El Khomri law The loi n° 2016-1088 du 8 août 2016 relative au travail, à la modernisation du dialogue social et à la sécurisation des parcours professionnels is a piece of national legislation in France relating to employment. It is commonly known as the E ...
and the reformist
Macron law Macron may refer to: People * Emmanuel Macron (born 1977), president of France since 2017 ** Brigitte Macron (born 1953), French teacher, wife of Emmanuel Macron * Jean-Michel Macron (born 1950), French professor of neurology, father of Emmanuel ...
, moves often described as indicative of his authoritarian tendencies. Valls further attempted to portray himself as a candidate "profoundly of the left" by backing down on his earlier tough tone towards labour, promising not to institute any further reforms to France's
35-hour workweek The 35-hour working week is a part of a labour law reform adopted in France in February 2000, under Prime Minister Lionel Jospin's Plural Left government. Pushed by Minister of Labour Martine Aubry, it was adopted in two phases: the "Aubry 1" la ...
– beloved by the French left – nor its labour laws, instead taking an anti-austerity tone; despite this, his campaign was overshadowed by past policies such as the abolition of the
wealth tax A wealth tax (also called a capital tax or equity tax) is a tax on an entity's holdings of assets. This includes the total value of personal assets, including cash, bank deposits, real estate, assets in insurance and pension plans, ownershi ...
. Unveiling his platform on 3 January 2017, he proposed a 2.5% increase in public spending contingent on annual economic growth of 1.9% while keeping the deficit below the 3% of GDP requirement mandated by the
Stability and Growth Pact The Stability and Growth Pact (SGP) is an agreement, among all of the 27 member states of the European Union, to facilitate and maintain the stability of the Economic and Monetary Union (EMU). Based primarily on Articles 121 and 126 of the Tre ...
, the creation a "decent income" of €800 for all adult French nationals, halving the gender pay gap in France, a "pause" in the
enlargement of the European Union The European Union (EU) has expanded a number of times throughout its history by way of the accession of new member states to the Union. To join the EU, a state needs to fulfil economic and political conditions called the Copenhagen criteria ...
, the addition of a charter of secularism to the Constitution, and the consolidation of the nuclear industry. Valls was physically attacked twice during the campaign; the first incident occurred on 22 December 2016, in which he was flour-bombed by a protester screaming "We do not forget the 49-3. We don't forgive it," a reference to his claim that he would abolish the constitutional provision he twice used to bypass legislative approval, during a visit to a Christmas market in
Strasbourg Strasbourg (, , ; german: Straßburg ; gsw, label= Bas Rhin Alsatian, Strossburi , gsw, label= Haut Rhin Alsatian, Strossburig ) is the prefecture and largest city of the Grand Est region of eastern France and the official seat of the ...
. The second incident, on 17 January 2017, involved an apparent Breton nationalist who slapped him during a campaign stop in
Lamballe Lamballe (; ; Gallo: ''Lanball'') is a town and a former commune in the Côtes-d'Armor department in Brittany in northwestern France. On 1 January 2019, it was merged into the new commune Lamballe-Armor. It lies on the river Gouessant east-sou ...
; although Valls initially brushed the episode off, saying "it's nothing," he later made to press charges, saying "Democracy cannot be about violence." Valls' most prominent opponent was initially considered to be former economy minister
Arnaud Montebourg Arnaud Montebourg (; born 30 October 1962) is a French politician, lawyer and entrepreneur who served as the Minister of Industrial Renewal from 2012 to 2014, who formally unveiled his platform in Paris on 3 January. The left-wing firebrand proclaimed that French employees should receive wage rises equivalent to executives' in order to constrain corporate pay and called for a "supertax" on banks to raise €5 billion a year. Challenged by former education minister
Benoît Hamon Benoît Hamon (; born 26 June 1967) is a French politician known for his former role within the Socialist Party (PS) and Party of European Socialists (PES) and his political party Génération.s. Hamon joined the Socialist Party in 1988 and ...
, who argued that the focus on economic growth and employment is misplaced, Montebourg argued that the prior was a "necessity" and claimed that he "challenged the theory of the end of work." He also criticized a perceived European obsession with austerity, condemning it as the cause of the country's persistently high rates of unemployment and dismal economic growth, promising to "liberate the French from European-imposed austerity." He also pledged during the campaign that he would not comply with EU deficit rules, in contrast to Valls, embark upon an "economic patriotism" (described as protectionism by some observers), reserve 80 percent of government contracts for French small businesses, reinstate border controls, repeal the El Khomri jobs bill, defend small domestic businesses, warn that he might engage in a trade war against China, and support a €30 billion infrastructure plan. Montebourg's months-long position in second place, however, was challenged by a surge of support for
Benoît Hamon Benoît Hamon (; born 26 June 1967) is a French politician known for his former role within the Socialist Party (PS) and Party of European Socialists (PES) and his political party Génération.s. Hamon joined the Socialist Party in 1988 and ...
, with the primary becoming a three-man race between Valls, Hamon, and Montebourg by mid-January. Hamon's strongly left-wing program of legalizing cannabis, taxing robots to fund a
universal basic income Universal basic income (UBI) is a social welfare proposal in which all citizens of a given population regularly receive an unconditional transfer payment, that is, without a means test or need to work. It would be received independently of ...
, and reducing the 35-hour workweek to 32 hours, attracted many left-wing voters disillusioned by the Socialists' turn toward business-friendly policies, championed under Hollande's presidency by the likes of Valls and Macron. The former education minister's late rise was likened to that of
François Fillon François Charles Armand Fillon (; born 4 March 1954) is a retired French politician who served as Prime Minister of France from 2007 to 2012 under President Nicolas Sarkozy. He was the nominee of the Republicans (previously known as the Union ...
in the primary of the centre-right Republicans party, his rise propelled by his championing of left-wing values and vision of a society that spends less time working, enjoys higher pay, and emphasizes the importance GDP growth less. Hamon has also decried "neoconservatives" and "even those on the left" who wished to restrict the rights of French Muslims, a less-than-subtle denunciation of Valls's hardline stance on immigration. His proposal for a universal income has been his signature policy; in the final primary debate, he insisted that it "creates work" and "allows employees to reduce their workdays, and it can further contract and eradicate poverty," and post-debate polls indicated left-wing voters consistently viewed Hamon as being the most convincing candidate. Three debates were held before the first round of the primary. The first, syndicated by TF1,
Public Sénat In public relations and communication science, publics are groups of individual people, and the public (a.k.a. the general public) is the totality of such groupings. This is a different concept to the sociological concept of the ''Öffentlichke ...
, LCI, RTL, and co-organized by ''L'Observateur'', aired at 21:00 CET on 12 January, moderated by
Gilles Bouleau Gilles Bouleau (born 25 May 1962) is a French journalist. As a journalist and reporter on TF1 and LCI for several years, he spent several years in other countries as a correspondent in London and Washington. Head of special operations since 2011 ...
, Élizabeth Martichoux, and
Matthieu Croissandeau Matthieu is a given name or surname. It comes from French Matthieu, which is from Latin Matthaeus, derived from Greek Ματθαῖος (''Matthaios'') from Hebrew מתתיהו (''Matatyahu''), מתיתיהו (''Matityahu''), meaning "gift of the L ...
; the second, by BFM TV, RMC, and I-TV, aired at 18:00 CET on 15 January, moderated by
Ruth Elkrief Ruth Elkrief (born 1 December 1960 in Meknes, Morocco) is a French- Moroccan television journalist. She worked on the 24-hour news channel BFM TV from 2005 to 2021. Early life Ruth Elkrief was born in Meknes, Morocco. Her great-uncle, Shalom M ...
,
Laurence Ferrari Laurence Ferrari ( ; born 5 July 1966) is a French journalist, best known as a former anchor of the TF1 weekday evening news ''Le 20H''."À TF1, Laurence Ferrari va remplacer Patrick Poivre d’Arvor", ''Le Monde'', Guy DutheiLemonde.frRetrieved ...
, and
Laurent Neumann Laurent may refer to: *Laurent (name), a French masculine given name and a surname **Saint Laurence (aka: Saint ''Laurent''), the martyr Laurent **Pierre Alphonse Laurent, mathematician **Joseph Jean Pierre Laurent, amateur astronomer, discoverer ...
; the third, by
France 2 France 2 () is a French public national television channel. It is part of the state-owned France Télévisions group, along with France 3, France 4 and France 5. France Télévisions also participates in Arte and Euronews. Since 3:20 CET on 7 A ...
, Europe 1, LCP,
TV5Monde TV5Monde (), formerly known as TV5, is a French public television network, broadcasting several channels of French-language programming. It is an approved participant member of the European Broadcasting Union. The network is available across ...
, and regional daily newspapers, aired at 21:00 CET on 19 January, moderated by
David Pujadas David Pujadas (, , ; born 2 December 1964) is a French journalist and television host. A news presenter for TF1's LCI daily news programme, ''24H Pujadas,'' at 18:00 CET, he was an anchorman on France 2's weeknight newscast, ''Le Journal de ...
,
Léa Salamé Hala Salamé, known as Léa Salamé (born 27 October 1979), is a Lebanese-born French journalist. Early life Hala Salamé is the daughter of Ghassan Salamé, former Lebanese Minister of Culture and former special advisor to UN Secretary-General K ...
, and
Fabien Namias Fabien is both a French given masculine name and a French surname. Notable people with the name include: People with the given name Fabien: * Fabien Audard (born 1978), French professional football (soccer) player * Fabien Barthez (born 1971), r ...
. The first debate attracted 3.83 million viewers, representing an audience share of 18.3%; the second 1.75 million, representing a share of 7.9%; and the third 3.07 million, a share of 15%.


First round

Hamon came on top in the first round of the primary, followed by Valls; as neither of the two secured more than 50% of the vote, a second round was held on 29 January. Montebourg, relegated to third place, conceded defeat and pledged to vote for Hamon in the second round. Peillon came fourth, de Rugy fifth, Pinel sixth, and Bennahmias last. Of these four candidates, Pinel backed Valls in the second round; Peillon did not endorse but encouraged voters to mobilize; and de Rugy also chose not to endorse immediately afterwards, hoping to meet the top two contenders on 23 January to decide. Only 7,350 polling stations were open during the primary, compared to 9,425 in the 2011 primary and 10,228 in the primary of the right. Meanwhile, Bennahmias, with just over 1% of the primary vote, did not initially endorse any candidate and expressed his intent to announce a decision on 25 January; he ultimately backed Valls. An overnight update of the official primary results published 10:00 CET on 23 January added approximately three hundred thousand votes, without any change in the vote share of any candidate, arousing suspicions among observers and the French press. Two hours later, an update to the total of votes obtained by Sylvia Pinel was published, increasing her vote share by 0.01% (i.e., 160 additional votes). However, the total number of votes for Pinel increased by 161, more than the total number of overall votes, with changes to no other candidates. The results were initially speculated to have been manipulated into inflate the apparent turnout, which was low compared to past primaries. The PS initially attributed the results to a "bug", but later conceded that it had been a result of "human error." However, the French press remained skeptical, noting the improbability of a nearly-identical 28% increase in votes for all seven candidates. There was also additional confusion, even prior to reports about the potential manipulation of vote totals, surrounding the number of polling stations open (which, according to PS, is fewer than 7,350 because many were merged with others) and the vagueness of PS officials on primary turnout, compounded by the fact that no comprehensive public record of primary results was published.


Second round

The second round runoff was held on 29 January between
Benoît Hamon Benoît Hamon (; born 26 June 1967) is a French politician known for his former role within the Socialist Party (PS) and Party of European Socialists (PES) and his political party Génération.s. Hamon joined the Socialist Party in 1988 and ...
and
Manuel Valls Manuel Carlos Valls Galfetti (, , ; born 13 August 1962) is a French-Spanish politician who has served as a Barcelona city councillor from 2019 to 2021. He served as Prime Minister of France from 2014 until 2016 under president François Hol ...
. An additional debate was held before the second round, syndicated between France Inter, TF1, and France 2 at 21:00 CET on 25 January, moderated by Gilles Bouleau, David Pujadas, and Alexandra Bensaid, after which an Elabe poll found that 60% of viewers were most convinced by Hamon, compared to 37% for Valls; the margin was 61–36 among left-wing sympathizers. In the second round of the primary on 29 January, Hamon defeated Valls, by a comfortable margin, with 58.69% of votes against 41.31%; turnout, at 2.05 million, was considerably higher than that in the first round. As the winner of the primary, Hamon was designated the Socialist nominee for the presidential election.


Aftermath

On 22 February, François de Rugy announced his support for Emmanuel Macron, breaking the commitment requested of former candidates to back the winner of the primary, stating that he preferred "coherence to obedience," albeit acknowledging that Hamon was the legitimate nominee of the PS. On 13 March, ''
Le Parisien ''Le Parisien'' (; French for "The Parisian") is a French daily newspaper covering both international and national news, and local news of Paris and its suburbs. It is owned by LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton SE, better known as LVMH. Histor ...
'' reported that Valls, rather than backing Socialist nominee Benoît Hamon, would urge voters to support Macron in the first round of the presidential election; Valls denied the report at the time, but declared on 29 March that he personally would vote for Macron, but did not rally behind his candidacy. On 15 March, the PRG announced its support for Hamon's candidacy, securing concessions on issues pertaining to European governance, and confirmed an agreement with the Socialist Party for the legislative elections; this followed a period of hesitation after the primary in which the party contemplated the candidacy of Macron, who secured the support of several of its parliamentarians.


Candidates


Withdrawn

*
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 ...
, Senator *Marc Jutier, PS member; joined
Jean-Luc Mélenchon Jean-Luc Antoine Pierre Mélenchon (; born 19 August 1951) is a French politician who was a member of the National Assembly for the 4th constituency of Bouches-du-Rhône from 2017 to 2022. He led the ''La France Insoumise'' group in the Nation ...
's
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 ...


Declined

*
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 of Lille (No ...
, mayor of
Lille Lille ( , ; nl, Rijsel ; pcd, Lile; vls, Rysel) is a city in the northern part of France, in French Flanders. On the river Deûle, near France's border with Belgium, it is the capital of the Hauts-de-France region, the prefecture of the No ...
, former Minister of Social Affairs, Minister of Labour, Employment and Vocational Training, Socialist leader, and 2012 presidential candidate *
Matthias Fekl Matthias Fekl (; born 4 October 1977) is a French politician who served as Minister of the Interior in the government of Prime Minister Bernard Cazeneuve in 2017. A member of the Socialist Party, he was elected to the National Assembly in the s ...
, Trade Secretary in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Development *
Annick Girardin Annick Girardin (born 3 August 1964) is a French politician of the Radical Party who served as Minister of the Sea in the government of Prime Minister Jean Castex (2020–2022), Minister of Overseas France in the government of Prime Minis ...
, PRG member and Minister of the Civil Service; endorsed the candidacy of Sylvia Pinel *
Anne Hidalgo Ana María "Anne" Hidalgo Aleu (, ; born 1959) is a Spanish-French politician who has served as Mayor of Paris since 2014, the first woman to hold the office. She is a member of the Socialist Party. Hidalgo served as First Deputy Mayor of Paris ...
,
mayor of Paris The Mayor of Paris (french: Maire de Paris) is the chief executive of Paris, the capital and largest city in France. The officeholder is responsible for the administration and management of the city, submits proposals and recommendations to the ...
; endorsed the candidacy of Vincent Peillon *
François Hollande François Gérard Georges Nicolas Hollande (; born 12 August 1954) is a French politician who served as President of France from 2012 to 2017. He previously was First Secretary of the Socialist Party (France), First Secretary of the Socialist P ...
, incumbent
President of France The president of France, officially the president of the French Republic (french: Président de la République française), is the executive head of state of France, and the commander-in-chief of the French Armed Forces. As the presidency i ...
*
Ségolène Royal Marie-Ségolène Royal (; born 22 September 1953) is a French politician who was the Socialist Party candidate for the Presidency of France in the 2007 election. Royal was president of the Poitou-Charentes Regional Council from 2004 to 201 ...
, 2007 Socialist Party presidential candidate, incumbent Minister of Ecology, Sustainable Development and Energy *
Christiane Taubira Christiane Marie Taubira (; born 2 February 1952) is a French politician who served as Minister of Justice of France in the governments of Prime Ministers Jean-Marc Ayrault and Manuel Valls under President François Hollande from 2012 until ...
, former Minister of Justice *
Marisol Touraine Marisol Touraine (; born 7 March 1959) is a French politician who served as Minister of Social Affairs and Health under Prime Ministers Jean-Marc Ayrault,Angelique ChrisafisWomen in the French cabinet ''The Guardian'', 18 May 2012Olivier Auguste ...
, Minister of Social Affairs and
Health Health, according to the World Health Organization, is "a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease and infirmity".World Health Organization. (2006)''Constitution of the World Health Organ ...
* Najat Vallaud-Belkacem, Minister of Education, Higher Education and Research; endorsed the candidacy of Manuel Valls


Refused to participate

*
Emmanuel Macron Emmanuel Macron (; born 21 December 1977) is a French politician who has served as President of France since 2017. ''Ex officio'', he is also one of the two Co-Princes of Andorra. Prior to his presidency, Macron served as Minister of Econ ...
, former Minister of the Economy, Industry and Digital Affairs, and founder of En Marche!, standing as an independent in the presidential election *
Jean-Luc Mélenchon Jean-Luc Antoine Pierre Mélenchon (; born 19 August 1951) is a French politician who was a member of the National Assembly for the 4th constituency of Bouches-du-Rhône from 2017 to 2022. He led the ''La France Insoumise'' group in the Nation ...
, Left Front MEP, former Minister of Vocational Education and Senator, standing as a far-left candidate in the presidential election


Opinion polls


First round


Second round


Hamon–Valls


Valls–Montebourg


Hollande–Montebourg


Hollande–Hamon


Valls–Macron


Montebourg–Macron


Hollande–Macron


Results

, - style="background-color:#E9E9E9;text-align:center;" ! rowspan="2" colspan="2" style="text-align:left" , Candidates ! rowspan="2" colspan="2" style="text-align:left" , Parties ! colspan="2" , 1st round ! colspan="2" , 2nd round , - style="background-color:#E9E9E9;text-align:center;" ! width="60" , Votes ! width="30" , % ! width="60" , Votes ! width="30" , % , - , style="background-color:" , , style="text-align:left;" ,
Benoît Hamon Benoît Hamon (; born 26 June 1967) is a French politician known for his former role within the Socialist Party (PS) and Party of European Socialists (PES) and his political party Génération.s. Hamon joined the Socialist Party in 1988 and ...
, style="text-align:left;" ,
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 ...
, PS , , , , , - , style="background-color:" , , style="text-align:left;" ,
Manuel Valls Manuel Carlos Valls Galfetti (, , ; born 13 August 1962) is a French-Spanish politician who has served as a Barcelona city councillor from 2019 to 2021. He served as Prime Minister of France from 2014 until 2016 under president François Hol ...
, style="text-align:left;" ,
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 ...
, PS , , , , , - , style="background-color:" , , style="text-align:left;" ,
Arnaud Montebourg Arnaud Montebourg (; born 30 October 1962) is a French politician, lawyer and entrepreneur who served as the Minister of Industrial Renewal from 2012 to 2014,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 ...
, PS , , , colspan="2" rowspan="5" style="background-color:#E9E9E9" , , - , style="background-color:" , , style="text-align:left;" ,
Vincent Peillon Vincent Benoît Camille Peillon (; born 7 July 1960) is a French politician who served as Minister for Education in the French Government. He is a longstanding French politician and, from 2014 until 2019, served as a Member of the European Parl ...
, style="text-align:left;" ,
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 ...
, PS , , , - , style="background-color:" , , style="text-align:left;" ,
François de Rugy François Henri Goullet de Rugy (; born 6 December 1973) is a French politician who served as President of the National Assembly from 2017 to 2018 and Minister of Ecological and Solidary Transition from 2018 to 2019. Since 2007, he has repres ...
, style="text-align:left;" ,
Ecologist Party The Ecologist Party (French: ''Parti écologiste'', PÉ), founded as Écologistes !, is a centre-left French political party that holds pro-European views, created in September 2015 by François de Rugy, President of the Europe Ecology – The ...
, PÉ , , , - , style="background-color:" , , style="text-align:left;" ,
Sylvia Pinel Sylvia Pinel (born 28 September 1977) is a French politician who has been serving as a member of the National Assembly of France since 2016 to 2022, where she represented the 2nd constituency in the Tarn-et-Garonne department. Since 3 Se ...
, style="text-align:left;" ,
Radical Party of the Left The Radical Party of the Left (french: Parti radical de gauche, PRG) is a social-liberal political party in France. A party in the Radical tradition, since 1972 the PRG was a close ally of the major party of the centre-left in France, the Soc ...
, PRG , , , - , style="background-color:" , , style="text-align:left;" ,
Jean-Luc Bennahmias Jean-Luc Bennahmias (born 2 December 1954) is a French politician. Political career Bennahmias was National secretary of the Green Party (1997–2001), Regional councillor (1992–1996) and Chairman of the Green Group on the Provence-Alpes-Cà ...
, style="text-align:left;" ,
Democratic Front Democratic Front is a name used by political parties and alliances in several countries, such as: *Democratic Front (Albania) * Democratic Front for the Liberation of Angola *Democratic Front (Bosnia and Herzegovina) * Democratic Front (Cyprus) * De ...
, FD , , , - , colspan="8" style="background-color:#E9E9E9" , , - , colspan="4" style="text-align:left" , Valid votes , , , , , - , colspan="4" style="text-align:left" , Spoilt and null votes , , , , , - style="font-weight:bold;" , colspan="4" style="text-align:left" , Total , , 100% , , 100% , - , colspan="8" style="background-color:#E9E9E9" , , - , colspan="8" style="text-align:left" , List of candidates by High Authority. Source


Non-candidates

Twenty-four applications were filed with the High Authority for the left-wing primary, but not all were made public; of these, several were disqualified for not securing enough sponsors under the rules of the primary. *Gérard Filoche, former labor inspector, militant communist *Sidi Hamada-Hamidou, member of the
Radical Party of the Left The Radical Party of the Left (french: Parti radical de gauche, PRG) is a social-liberal political party in France. A party in the Radical tradition, since 1972 the PRG was a close ally of the major party of the centre-left in France, the Soc ...
(PRG) *Maxime Legrand, opposition councillor in
Poissy Poissy () is a commune in the Yvelines department in the ÃŽle-de-France region in north-central France. It is located in the western suburbs of Paris, from the centre of Paris. Inhabitants are called ''Pisciacais'' in French. Poissy is one ...
*Régis Passerieux, candidate of the PS's Christian faction *Fabien Verdier, Socialist Party member, advisor to two cabinet ministers and former town councillor Several other individuals filed applications which were rejected as they were not members of PS, UDE, PE, or FD. *Bastien Faudot, spokesman of the
Citizen and Republican Movement The Citizen and Republican Movement (French: ''Mouvement républicain et citoyen'') is a political party in France. The party replaced in 2002 the Citizens' Movement (''Mouvement des citoyens'', MDC) founded by Jean-Pierre Chevènement, who l ...
(MRC) *Pierre Larrouturou, former co-president of
Nouvelle Donne New Deal (french: Nouvelle Donne) is a Keynesian liberal and progressive political party in France. It was founded on 18 November 2013 by Pierre Larrouturou. Its stated aims are to renew how democracy is used, and it has social, ecological and ...
*Sébastien Nadot, nominee of the
Movement of Progressives The Movement of Progressives (french: Mouvement des progressistes, MDP) formerly known as the Progressive Unitary Movement, is a minor democratic-socialist political party in France. Their sole MP ( Sébastien Nadot) and their sole Senator a ...


See also

*
The Republicans (France) presidential primary, 2016 The Republicans held a presidential primary election, officially called the open primary of the right and centre (french: primaire ouverte de la droite et du centre), to select a candidate for the 2017 presidential election. It took place on 20 ...
*
2017 French presidential election The 2017 French presidential election was held on 23 April and 7 May 2017. As no candidate won a majority in the first round, a Two-round system, runoff was held between the top two candidates, Emmanuel Macron of La République En Marche!, En Ma ...


References


External links


Official website
{{French Socialist Party
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 ...
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 ...
January 2017 events in France Primary elections in France Socialist Party (France)