French left 'people's primary' fails to end feuding
Former Justice Minister Christiane Taubira won the 'people's primary' to lead the left's efforts to unseat President Emmanuel Macron in the April election
Former Justice Minister Christiane Taubira won the 'people's primary' to lead the left's efforts to unseat President Emmanuel Macron in the April election
(AFP/JOEL SAGET) (JOEL SAGET)
Jurgen HECKER
Mon, January 31, 2022
A grassroots initiative aimed at finding a unity candidate among France's leftist presidential hopefuls has only served to accentuate divisions, increasing the risk left-wing forces will fail to have an impact on the April vote.
A so called "people's primary" on Sunday picked former justice minister Christiane Taubira as the favourite to lead the left's efforts to unseat President Emmanuel Macron in the election.
A total of 392,000 people took part in the four-day online poll, a non-binding and unofficial enterprise organised by political activists including environmentalists, feminists and anti-racism groups.
Taubira, a long-time champion of the activist left, entered the contest as the favourite and emerged with the highest score on a scale from "very good" to "inadequate".
The French Guiana-born left-winger, 69, was a progressive voice in former Socialist president Francois Hollande's government and the driver behind the 2013 legalisation of same-sex marriage. She resigned after disagreeing with Hollande over anti-terror legislation.
Next in the primary rankings came the Green party's Yannick Jadot, hard-left firebrand Jean-Luc Melenchon, and Euro MP Pierre Larrouturou.
In a new blow to her flagging campaign, Socialist Party candidate Anne Hidalgo, the mayor of Paris, trailed in fifth place.
"We want a united left, we want a strong left and we have a great road in front of us," Taubira told activists after the result Sunday.
But the primary was in trouble from the start after Melenchon, Hidalgo and Jadot refused to have anything to do with it, or abide by its result.
Communist candidate Fabien Roussel said Monday he had no intention of backing Taubira who "has no election programme".
- 'Extremely disrespectful' -
Some charged that the primary had always been designed to endorse Taubira, rather than serve as a vehicle for unity.
"This could have been a rallying moment for the entire left, but it turned out to be just another candidacy," said Hidalgo.
Melenchon said of Taubira that "she is stepping into the shoes that were made for her" by the primary, adding that "none of this is my concern".
Jadot simply stated that he had "nothing" to say to the primary winner.
Taubira said her rivals were "extremely disrespectful towards the people who organised this primary and those who chose to take part".
But, she added, "the fact is that nearly half a million people decided to play a role in the campaign", while deploring on Franceinfo radio the other candidates' "haughty way to distance themselves from a democratic process".
- 'Confusion a little worse' -
The primary turned out to be "civic success but a political failure", said Gilles Finchelstein, head of the Fondation Jean Jaures, a think tank.
"The ambition to have a single candidate for the entire left is an illusion" because of the different strands involved, he told AFP.
Remi Lefebvre, a political scientist at Lille University, said the different candidates were "jockeying for position" over sometimes "small" differences.
"This crisis is making the confusion on the left a little worse," he said.
Polls currently predict that all left-wing candidates will be eliminated in the first round of presidential voting in April.
Macron, who has yet to declare his candidacy for re-election, is favourite to win the first round, with the far-right's Marine Le Pen or right-wing contender Valerie Pecresse expected to make the run-off vote two weeks later.
Jurgen HECKER
Mon, January 31, 2022
A grassroots initiative aimed at finding a unity candidate among France's leftist presidential hopefuls has only served to accentuate divisions, increasing the risk left-wing forces will fail to have an impact on the April vote.
A so called "people's primary" on Sunday picked former justice minister Christiane Taubira as the favourite to lead the left's efforts to unseat President Emmanuel Macron in the election.
A total of 392,000 people took part in the four-day online poll, a non-binding and unofficial enterprise organised by political activists including environmentalists, feminists and anti-racism groups.
Taubira, a long-time champion of the activist left, entered the contest as the favourite and emerged with the highest score on a scale from "very good" to "inadequate".
The French Guiana-born left-winger, 69, was a progressive voice in former Socialist president Francois Hollande's government and the driver behind the 2013 legalisation of same-sex marriage. She resigned after disagreeing with Hollande over anti-terror legislation.
Next in the primary rankings came the Green party's Yannick Jadot, hard-left firebrand Jean-Luc Melenchon, and Euro MP Pierre Larrouturou.
In a new blow to her flagging campaign, Socialist Party candidate Anne Hidalgo, the mayor of Paris, trailed in fifth place.
"We want a united left, we want a strong left and we have a great road in front of us," Taubira told activists after the result Sunday.
But the primary was in trouble from the start after Melenchon, Hidalgo and Jadot refused to have anything to do with it, or abide by its result.
Communist candidate Fabien Roussel said Monday he had no intention of backing Taubira who "has no election programme".
- 'Extremely disrespectful' -
Some charged that the primary had always been designed to endorse Taubira, rather than serve as a vehicle for unity.
"This could have been a rallying moment for the entire left, but it turned out to be just another candidacy," said Hidalgo.
Melenchon said of Taubira that "she is stepping into the shoes that were made for her" by the primary, adding that "none of this is my concern".
Jadot simply stated that he had "nothing" to say to the primary winner.
Taubira said her rivals were "extremely disrespectful towards the people who organised this primary and those who chose to take part".
But, she added, "the fact is that nearly half a million people decided to play a role in the campaign", while deploring on Franceinfo radio the other candidates' "haughty way to distance themselves from a democratic process".
- 'Confusion a little worse' -
The primary turned out to be "civic success but a political failure", said Gilles Finchelstein, head of the Fondation Jean Jaures, a think tank.
"The ambition to have a single candidate for the entire left is an illusion" because of the different strands involved, he told AFP.
Remi Lefebvre, a political scientist at Lille University, said the different candidates were "jockeying for position" over sometimes "small" differences.
"This crisis is making the confusion on the left a little worse," he said.
Polls currently predict that all left-wing candidates will be eliminated in the first round of presidential voting in April.
Macron, who has yet to declare his candidacy for re-election, is favourite to win the first round, with the far-right's Marine Le Pen or right-wing contender Valerie Pecresse expected to make the run-off vote two weeks later.
French left is divided, weakened in presidential race
By SYLVIE CORBET
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By SYLVIE CORBET
1 of 5
Former left-wing socialist minister Christiane Taubira visits an association which fight against domestic violence, in Nantes, western France, Monday, Jan. 10 2022. Christiane Taubira won Sunday Jan.30, 2022 the so-called Popular Primary, organized by left-wing supporters to unite their ranks before France's presidential election is held in two rounds on April 10 and 24. But the move already appears bound to fail: key contenders say they wouldn't respect the outcome because they don't respect the process.
(AP Photo/Jeremias Gonzalez, File)
PARIS (AP) — The French left is running divided and weakened in this year’s presidential race as at least five mainstream presidential candidates have rejected any alliances with each other — and an online vote meant to pick a leader appears doomed to fail.
An icon of the French left, Christiane Taubira, a staunch feminist and a champion of minorities, won the so-called Popular Primary on Sunday designed to unite left-wing supporters before France’s presidential election is held in two rounds on April 10 and April 24. More than 392,000 people voted in the primary.
Yet many of the mainstream left-wing presidential contenders said they will not respect the outcome of the popular because they did not respect how it was set up.
Taubira, 69, joined the race earlier this month in hopes of convincing others to join forces behind her candidacy. So far, her strategy hasn’t worked. Critics and rivals both say her candidacy is further splintering the French left.
“We want a united left, a left that stands up, because we are attached to left-wing ideals,” she said after Sunday’s result was announced.
Taubira is revered for championing a same-sex marriage bill into French law in 2013. She last ran for president in 2002, the first Black woman to do so in France, winning 2.3% of the vote.
At least five main candidates ranging from left-wing to the far-left are running for president, in addition to lesser-known contenders. At the moment, none of them appears in a position to reach the two-person runoff in April’s election.
Centrist President Emmanuel Macron, who doesn’t hide his intention to run for reelection, is considered the front-runner. Conservative candidate Valérie Pécresse and two far-right figures, Marine le Pen and Eric Zemmour, are the main challengers according to polls, placing far-left candidate Jean-Luc Melenchon in fifth position.
Melenchon — a political firebrand with a notorious temper — refuses to form a united front with other left-wing candidates. The 70-year-old politician, who heads the “Rebel France” party, has promised to guarantee jobs for everyone, raise the minimum wage, lower the retirement age to 60 and hike taxes on multinationals and rich households.
The Greens’ contender, Yannick Jadot, 54, and the Socialist candidate, Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo, 62, have also rejected the idea of running together despite a traditional alliance between their parties. Another candidate, Fabien Roussel, 52, is running for the Communist Party.
Jadot, Hidalgo and Melenchon have all said they won’t comply with the result of the Popular Primary.
Hidalgo’s campaign has failed to prompt enthusiasm from leftist voters. Her once-powerful party remains weakened after Macron’s win in 2017, when Socialist President Francois Hollande decided not to run for reelection amid unprecedented low popularity ratings.
Jadot unveiled his electoral platform Saturday during a rally in Lyon, saying that climate change is the “biggest challenge” that voters and politicians face.
“Tomorrow’s France must get out of energies of the past,” he said. He promised not to build any new nuclear reactors in France and to progressively replace the old ones by renewable energy, which he said could take up to 25 years. France now relys on nuclear power for 70% of its energy.
Jadot also vowed to combat social injustice via ensuring a minimum revenue of 920 euros ($1,026) a month to all adults living in poverty.
___
Barbara Surk in Nice contributed to this report.
PARIS (AP) — The French left is running divided and weakened in this year’s presidential race as at least five mainstream presidential candidates have rejected any alliances with each other — and an online vote meant to pick a leader appears doomed to fail.
An icon of the French left, Christiane Taubira, a staunch feminist and a champion of minorities, won the so-called Popular Primary on Sunday designed to unite left-wing supporters before France’s presidential election is held in two rounds on April 10 and April 24. More than 392,000 people voted in the primary.
Yet many of the mainstream left-wing presidential contenders said they will not respect the outcome of the popular because they did not respect how it was set up.
Taubira, 69, joined the race earlier this month in hopes of convincing others to join forces behind her candidacy. So far, her strategy hasn’t worked. Critics and rivals both say her candidacy is further splintering the French left.
“We want a united left, a left that stands up, because we are attached to left-wing ideals,” she said after Sunday’s result was announced.
Taubira is revered for championing a same-sex marriage bill into French law in 2013. She last ran for president in 2002, the first Black woman to do so in France, winning 2.3% of the vote.
At least five main candidates ranging from left-wing to the far-left are running for president, in addition to lesser-known contenders. At the moment, none of them appears in a position to reach the two-person runoff in April’s election.
Centrist President Emmanuel Macron, who doesn’t hide his intention to run for reelection, is considered the front-runner. Conservative candidate Valérie Pécresse and two far-right figures, Marine le Pen and Eric Zemmour, are the main challengers according to polls, placing far-left candidate Jean-Luc Melenchon in fifth position.
Melenchon — a political firebrand with a notorious temper — refuses to form a united front with other left-wing candidates. The 70-year-old politician, who heads the “Rebel France” party, has promised to guarantee jobs for everyone, raise the minimum wage, lower the retirement age to 60 and hike taxes on multinationals and rich households.
The Greens’ contender, Yannick Jadot, 54, and the Socialist candidate, Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo, 62, have also rejected the idea of running together despite a traditional alliance between their parties. Another candidate, Fabien Roussel, 52, is running for the Communist Party.
Jadot, Hidalgo and Melenchon have all said they won’t comply with the result of the Popular Primary.
Hidalgo’s campaign has failed to prompt enthusiasm from leftist voters. Her once-powerful party remains weakened after Macron’s win in 2017, when Socialist President Francois Hollande decided not to run for reelection amid unprecedented low popularity ratings.
Jadot unveiled his electoral platform Saturday during a rally in Lyon, saying that climate change is the “biggest challenge” that voters and politicians face.
“Tomorrow’s France must get out of energies of the past,” he said. He promised not to build any new nuclear reactors in France and to progressively replace the old ones by renewable energy, which he said could take up to 25 years. France now relys on nuclear power for 70% of its energy.
Jadot also vowed to combat social injustice via ensuring a minimum revenue of 920 euros ($1,026) a month to all adults living in poverty.
___
Barbara Surk in Nice contributed to this report.
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