Photo by Katie Moum on Unsplash
The European Green Party says it is “outraged” by the reported agreement between Marine Le Pen’s Rassemblement National and Les Républicains in France.
The last 72 hours in French politics have been described as the “wildest” of a lifetime.
It all started with the outcome of the EU elections at the weekend which saw populist gains throughout Europe, including France, and the French President then dissolving the National Assembly.
Most pundits say that the political majority for the new EU parliament’s mandate still lies in the centre. But the most-voted party, the European People’s Party, will still need an alliance with the Socialists and Liberals to secure a stable majority in the EU Parliament.
The drama in France continues apace with the four main leftwing parties on Friday saying they have agreed to form a “Popular Front” (NPF) to contest the snap election, campaigning on a joint platform and fielding a single candidate in every constituency.
The Socialist party (PS), Greens, Communists, and France Unbowed (LFI) led by the hard-left firebrand Jean-Luc Mélenchon said they had reached agreement after several days of difficult talks and would present their manifesto later on Friday.
Elsewhere, Mélanie Vogel, co-chair of the European Green Party, and a French Senator, said Macron’s task now is “huge.”
She said: “In the last decade, we have seen liberals and conservatives in France making all of the same mistakes that the continent paid a horrible price for in the twenties and thirties. By failing to defend democratic values, by ‘normalising’ the ideas of the far-right, and by institutionalising their presence in the Parliament, they have paved the way for the worst.”
“The responsibility of Emmanuel Macron is huge. With his irresponsible decision to dissolve the French parliament, Macron has put the entire French democracy and the stability of the entire European Union at risk,” Vogel said.
She hopes the French Green party Les Ecologistes will play a role “in ensuring that there will be a large movement able to beat the fascists at the next elections.”
Vogel said: “In 1936 in France, while Germany was engulfed in Nazism, the ‘Front Populaire’ managed to defeat the far-right and build democratic and social victories. This is what we need to do again in 2024. This is our historical responsibility. I call on all progressives, democrats, feminists, LGBTI people, unions, civil society organisations to join this struggle for democracy and justice. We cannot be sure of the best outcome.”
“But we also cannot be certain of the worst. We can win. So let’s fight this together. I also call on all LR members to clarify their position and state whether they are still on the democratic side or not.” end
