Marie-Ségolène Royal is ready to lead the union of left European elections. The former socialist minister in the 2007 presidential elections (beaten in the second round by Nicolas Sarkozy) surprised everyone by proposing a "unitary list" with France insubordinate (LFI) of Melenchon in the next European elections to be held in June 2024. Socialists and ecologists see in this move an attempt to destabilize the party with the help of Jean-Luc Mélenchon. “It's about launching a dynamic of unity,” Ségolène Royal said at the France Insoumise summer university. Could she lead this list herself? “That's the idea,” she replied, adding that she's been thinking about this project since “before the summer”. Many questions were raised by this announcement which took everyone by surprise: the crowd of journalists that surrounded her and most of the Nupes executives, who had not been warned of the initiative by the former presidential candidate. Even the elected officials of LFI do not believe it. “We have never said that we support Ségolène Royal, nor that we would support her in the European elections. I don't understand,” says one elected member. Éric Coquerel, LFI deputy and longtime friend of Jean-Luc Mélenchon, believes that it is an "April fool".
The reactions
"We need a just order in Europe (…) We will show them that there is an alternative", Royal told the press, denying any "step back". “The cause we are defending is bigger than us,” she said. The initiative was also welcomed by the leader of LFI Manuel Bompard. “We need a Nupes list in the European elections,” Bompard said after Ségolène Royal's announcement.
“Ségolène Royal has shown boldness and courage, and she knows very well that she will not only receive compliments, but I want to approve her initiative and her contribution to the battle for unity,” added Mélenchon.
The divisive figure of Ségolène Royal
If this extravagant marriage ends, a new era will usher in for LFI, which will test the Insoumis. They, who support a break with the past and with radicalism, will have to take sides in favor of the "just order" advocated by the former candidate for the presidency of the Republic. Jean-Luc Mélenchon will also have to change his "style" to better adapt to that of his candidate.
Just when it was thought she would no longer be involved in politics after her crushing defeat in the 2012 general election, Royal has made a sensational comeback, and at a time when the left is split and the former socialist minister hopes she will (re) place yourself in the center of the game. All you have to do is renounce once and for all the European commitments undertaken for most of her career, with François Mitterrand, Jacques Delors and the Socialist Party, and adopt the TFI theme on the EU, hoping that this will allow it to regain the credibility that many deny it.
