Split between Socialists and hard-left damages chance of alliance before EU elections

Leading candidate for the French Socialist Party (PS) and the Place Publique party in the European elections and MEP Raphael Glucksmann delivers a speech during a campaign meeting near Lyon, France, 1 May, 2024. AFP - OLIVIER CHASSIGNOLE

With less than a month to go before European elections, the atmosphere among France's left-wing candidates is becoming increasingly antagonistic following a recent split between the centrist Socialists and the hard-left, further damaging the chances of a union for the upcoming polls.

Last week, the first secretary for France's Socialist Party (PS), Olivier Faure accused the hard-left France Unbowed (LFI) leader Jean-Luc Mélenchon of doing "everything to make an alliance impossible" between left-wing parties and their candidates running for election to the European parliament.