(C) Common Dreams
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Forget the far right. It’s the left that may squeeze Macron out of power. [1]

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Date: 2024-06-17 15:06:26+00:00

But after Macron’s risky decision to call early elections following the far-right National Rally’s crushing victory in the EU vote, left-wing parties have come together in a swift marriage of convenience.

The country’s four main left-wing forces, the Greens, Socialists, Communists and hard-left firebrand Jean-Luc Mélenchon’s France Unbowed (LFI) movement, sealed an agreement on Thursday with a shared manifesto to run under one banner, the New Popular Front.

Former presidential candidate Mélenchon and social-democratic leader Raphaël Glucksmann endlessly attacked each other during the EU campaign. Now Glucksmann, whose party landed the third-highest vote in the EU election, seems to be heeding counsel to avoid ego-driven divisions in public and has been mostly out of the limelight.

This smoothing over, however long it may last, is very bad news for Macron’s coalition, which is now polling a distant third in terms of voting intentions and could end up going from 250 seats to less than 100 in the 577-seat assembly, according to current projections.

French elections are conducted over two rounds — this one will be held on June 30 and July 7. In most cases, only two candidates make the runoff, which means splitting the vote in the first round can lead to elimination.

Had the left parties decided to run separately, their chances of making the run-off anywhere would’ve been slim. But with single candidates in each district, the left has offered itself a chance to become the National Rally’s strongest and main challenger.

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[1] Url: https://www.politico.eu/article/left-wing-alliance-new-popular-front-greens-socialists-communists-jean-luc-melenchon-france-unbowed-lfi-france-emmanuel-macron/

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