A French left-wing alliance said Friday it would break with President Emmanuel Macron’s policies if it wins snap polls that could see the far right make major gains in parliament.
With the National Rally (RN) expected to rack up dozens more seats and Macron’s camp bleeding support, “it’s going to be either the far right, or us", said Greens party leader Marine Tondelier, who joined the hard-left France Unbowed (LFI), Communists and Socialists in presenting their programme ahead of the June 30 first round.
Political parties including the Socialists, Greens, Communists and hard-left Unbowed France (LFI) formed a "Popular Front" on Monday in a bid to challenge the far-right's National Rally (RN), leading the polls for upcoming snap parliamentary elections.
"Warmest congratulations and thanks to our negotiators who had four sleepless nights at work, (going through) the programme line by line, constituency by constituency," French far-left leader Jean-Luc Melenchon said on social media platform X.
Ahead of their press conference on Friday, Ian Brossat, a communist member of the Senate, said that they would withdraw President Emmanuel Macron's unpopular pensions reform which led to protest on the streets.
"There will be the withdrawal of the pensions reform and a return to 60 years (as retirement age)", Brossat told Public Senat television. Macron's reform included a gradual rise of the retirement age to 64 from 62 before the overhaul.
Although the left's chances of winning the elections are slim according to the polls, their tie-up could bundle enough votes to hinder both Macron's and Le Pen's camps from reaching a stable governing majority, handing it sizeable political leeway.
The bloc worked together during the previous parliamentary campaign in 2022 before a leadership struggle and policy differences – including on the Gaza war – led to the de-facto collapse of their alliance.
Brossat said the parties managed to agree on a common stance on the conflict in the Middle East, labelling Hamas a "terrorist organisation" while also calling for the recognition of a Palestinian state.
(FRANCE 24 with AFP)
